Salamander Egg Mass Survey
2025-03-19 08:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York)
Saturday, May 3rd, 1pm- 3pm
Space is limited and registration is required!
Free, donations appreciated.

Join us for this hearty trek into the red maple swamp and adjacent vernal pool on Henry Street, for annual count of the yellow spotted salamander egg masses. This community science project has been collecting data in this location since 1993. There will be a short discussion/ training followed by delving into knee to waist high water, navigating muddy uneven terrain and traveling from tussock to tussock looking for egg masses. Recommended for ages 10 and up, anyone under 16 needs to be accompanied by an adult. Waders and polarized sunglasses are highly recommended.

Junior Nature Play Afterschool: Winter
2025-03-19 15:30 - 17:30
With: Isaiah Brown
Grades K-2
Wednesdays, 3:30-5:30 p.m.
January 8 – March 19 (no program on February 19 or March 12)
Fee per Child: Tier A-$269 | Tier B-$234 | Tier C-$199
Limited to 12 participants
Hitchcock’s Junior Nature Play Afterschool Program is designed to let kids be kids. Together we will run, jump, climb, invent, imagine, play and be free-range kids all while developing self-confidence and learning valuable social skills. During Winter Junior Nature Play we will explore snowy wooded trails and fields, make snow villages, and sled down the HCE hill! Our instructors provide a safe setting for children to explore nature and encourage children to stretch their limits.

Nature Play Afterschool: Winter
2025-03-19 15:30 - 17:30
With: Jeff Mazur
Grades 2-4
Wednesdays, 3:30-5:30 p.m.
January 8 – March 19 (no program on February 19 or March 12)
Fee per Child: Tier A-$269 | Tier B-$234 | Tier C-$199
Limited to 12 participants
Hitchcock’s Nature Play Afterschool Program is designed to let kids be kids. Together we will run, jump, climb, invent, imagine, play and be free-range kids all while developing self-confidence and learning valuable social skills. In Winter Nature Play Afterschool we will explore snowy wooded trails and fields, make snow villages, and sled down the HCE hill. Our instructors provide a safe setting for children to explore nature and encourage children to stretch their limits.

Spring Birding Course
2025-03-22 07:00 - 12:00
(February – June 2025) The Hitchcock Center’s annual Spring Birding course! The class focuses on identification and migration of New England birds. Click here to get information about today’s session, from location to the birds we hope to identify.

Wild Children of the Woods: Spring
2025-03-24 15:30 - 17:30, 2025-03-31 15:30 - 17:30, 2025-04-07 15:30 - 17:30
With: Monya Relles
Grades 3-5
Mondays 3:30-5:30 p.m.
March 24 – June 9 (no program April 21 and May 26)
Tier A:$299 | Tier B:$261 | Tier C:$222
Limited to 12 participants
We go to the woods to think, learn, play, and explore in this afterschool series for upper-elementary schoolers. We will roam the grounds of the Hitchcock Center as we watch the seasons change in our beautiful woods. We will visit stump city, ferns, and the far-away woods, play some organized games, and learn about the animals, plants, and life in these woods, including ourselves.

Girls into the Wild: Spring
2025-03-25 15:30 - 17:30, 2025-04-01 15:30 - 17:30, 2025-04-08 15:30 - 17:30
with: Katie Koerten
Grades 4-6
Tuesdays, 3:30-5:30 p.m.
March 25 – June 10 (no program April 22)
Fee per Child: Tier A-$328 | Tier B-$285 | Tier C-$242
Limited to 12 participants
Girls into the Wild continues into 2025 for more romping wildly through the field and forests of the Hitchcock Center. As always we’ll visit our favorite places to play in the forest, such as Stump City, the Ferns, and the Faraway Woods – exploring the seasonal beauty of nature as we go. Play games, make friends, and create nature projects in the outdoors! Come build your confidence and show your wild side! Any young people with an experience of gender marginalization are welcome!

Nature Play Afterschool: Spring
2025-03-25 15:30 - 17:30, 2025-04-01 15:30 - 17:30, 2025-04-08 15:30 - 17:30
With Jeff Mazur
Grades 2-4
Tuesdays, 3:30-5:30 p.m.
March 25 – June 10 (no program April 22)
Fee per Child: Tier A-$328 | Tier B-$285 | Tier C-$242
Limited to 12 participants
Hitchcock’s Nature Play Afterschool Program is designed to let kids be kids. Together we will run, jump, climb, invent, imagine, play and be free-range kids all while developing self-confidence and learning valuable social skills. In spring Nature Play Afterschool we will explore, watch the trees bud, celebrate the green and blooming springtime, and play in the mud. Our instructors provide a safe setting for children to explore nature and encourage children to stretch their limits.

Little Bear Nature Walk
2025-03-26 10:00 - 11:15, 2025-04-01 10:00 - 11:15, 2025-04-07 10:00 - 11:15
Come along on a Little Bear Nature Walk! Little Bear Nature Walks are a way for toddlers, preschoolers and their caregivers to explore nature in an age-appropriate way. Click here to find today’s theme, location, and to register!

Junior Nature Play Afterschool: Spring
2025-03-26 15:30 - 17:30, 2025-04-02 15:30 - 17:30, 2025-04-09 15:30 - 17:30
With: Lauren Dausch
Grades K-2
Wednesdays, 3:30-5:30 p.m.
March 26 – June 11 (no program April 23)
Fee per Child: Tier A-$332 | Tier B-$288 | Tier C-$245
Limited to 12 participants
Hitchcock’s Junior Nature Play Afterschool Program is designed to let kids be kids. Together we will run, jump, climb, invent, imagine, play and be free-range kids all while developing self-confidence and learning valuable social skills. During Spring Junior Nature Play we will play in the mud and spring rains, look for bugs, and enjoy the warming outdoors. Our instructors provide a safe setting for children to explore nature and encourage children to stretch their limits.

Nature Play Afterschool: Spring
2025-03-26 15:30 - 17:30, 2025-04-02 15:30 - 17:30, 2025-04-09 15:30 - 17:30
With Jeff Mazur
Grades 2-4
Wednesdays, 3:30-5:30 p.m.
March 26 – June 11 (no program April 23)
Fee per Child: Tier A-$332 | Tier B-$288 | Tier C-$245
Limited to 12 participants
Hitchcock’s Nature Play Afterschool Program is designed to let kids be kids. Together we will run, jump, climb, invent, imagine, play and be free-range kids all while developing self-confidence and learning valuable social skills. In spring Nature Play Afterschool we will explore, watch the trees bud, celebrate the green and blooming springtime, and play in the mud. Our instructors provide a safe setting for children to explore nature and encourage children to stretch their limits.

John Green Slideshow: Nature's Odyssey East (Part 1)
2025-03-26 18:00 - 19:00
Wednesday, March 26, 6pm – Newfoundland to Southern New England
Wednesday, April 16, 6pm – Connecticut River Valley to the Everglades
Join Naturalist John Green on a photographic exploration of eastern North America. This visual trek begins in the wild landscapes of Newfoundland, Canada then moves south of the St. Lawrence River to southern Quebec to study and photograph Northern Gannets on Bonaventure Island. Next we’re off to Baxter State Park in Maine then to a coastal Maine island to see Puffins and other seabirds. The slideshow continues to New Hampshire to visit the White Mountains and then a stand of orchids in southern Vermont.
Part 2 is then followed by three areas in Massachusetts John loves to photograph, Mt. Greylock, the Connecticut River Valley and Cape Cod. He then leapfrogs down to the mysterious Okefenokee swamp of southern Georgia and ends the journey in the unique Florida Everglades. John Green’s slideshows are a real treat, especially with the nostalgic hum of the old slide projector and click of the slides, and his love and connection to nature come through in his work and stories along the way.

Junior Nature Play Afterschool: Spring
2025-03-27 15:30 - 17:30, 2025-04-03 15:30 - 17:30
With: Lauren Dausch
Grades K-2
Thursdays, 3:30-5:30 p.m.
March 27 – June 12 (no program April 24)
Fee per Child: Tier A-$328 | Tier B-$285 | Tier C-$242
Limited to 12 participants
Hitchcock’s Junior Nature Play Afterschool Program is designed to let kids be kids. Together we will run, jump, climb, invent, imagine, play and be free-range kids all while developing self-confidence and learning valuable social skills. In spring Junior Nature Play Afterschool we will explore, watch the trees bud, celebrate the green and blooming springtime, and play in the mud. Our instructors provide a safe setting for children to explore nature and encourage children to stretch their limits.

Nature Discovery Series for ages 3-5 (AM)
2025-03-28 09:30 - 11:30, 2025-04-04 09:30 - 11:30
Nature Discovery Series for ages 3-5 (AM)
Nature Did It First! (How nature inspires creative design)
With Chrissy Larson
Ages 3-5 (Adult required to attend with child)
Fridays, March 28-June 6 (no class April 25)
Morning session: 9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. (please note earlier start time for Spring)
Afternoon session: 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Fee per child/adult pair: Tier A-$399 | Tier B-$347 | Tier C-$295
Limited to 12 families. Limit of 2 children per adult.
Please note: This ten-week series spends time outdoors each class unless there is extreme weather.
Did you know that hitchhiking burdock seeds inspired velcro? Or that snakeskin inspired safer shoes with better grip? Noticing how things are done in nature and using those ideas to solve human problems is called biomimicry. You might be surprised by the many ways that nature’s own problem solving inspires us to have new ideas and invent new things. Join us this spring to explore the world around us, learning about actual examples of biomimicry and investigating nature to find a new example each class. Lessons include stories, songs, hands-on activities, outdoor adventures, and play.

Nature Discovery for ages 3-5 (PM)
2025-03-28 13:00 - 15:00, 2025-04-04 13:00 - 15:00
Nature Discovery for 3-5 year olds (Adult/Child)
Nature Did It First! (How nature inspires creative design)
With Chrissy Larson
Ages 3-5 (Adult required to attend with child)
Fridays, March 28-June 6 (no class April 25)
Morning session: 9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. (please note earlier start time for Spring)
Afternoon session: 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Fee per child/adult pair: Tier A-$399 | Tier B-$347 | Tier C-$295
Limited to 12 families. Limit of 2 children per adult.
Please note: This ten-week series spends time outdoors each class unless there is extreme weather. ​​
Did you know that hitchhiking burdock seeds inspired velcro? Or that snakeskin inspired safer shoes with better grip? Noticing how things are done in nature and using those ideas to solve human problems is called biomimicry. You might be surprised by the many ways that nature’s own problem solving inspires us to have new ideas and invent new things. Join us this spring to explore the world around us, learning about actual examples of biomimicry and investigating nature to find a new example each class. Lessons include stories, songs, hands-on activities, outdoor adventures, and play.

ANCA CONNECTS at Hitchcock Center
2025-04-03 09:00 - 16:30
Thursday, April 3 — 9am-4:30pm ET
Join us for a day of professional development and networking at the Hitchcock Center for the Environment in Amherst, Massachusetts.
This CONNECTS program offers you the opportunity to connect with peers while learning about the operations of nature centers, outdoor schools, and related organizations. You’ll also be able to explore the Hitchcock Center, seeing the organization’s operations firsthand.
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