Follow your nose to the Hitchcock Center for a program all about smells in nature. We’ll discover plants, birds, insects and mammals that rely on the sense of smell for their survival! We’ll play games, explore the forest and do experiments to test our own sense of smell. By the time you leave, it will all make scents!

Do you just wanna play outside? Do you love mud puddles and muck, climbing trees and making friends? Need more outdoor recess in your life? Then Nature Play Afterschool at the Hitchcock Center is for you! Each Wednesday afterschool we play outside in rain or shine, building shelters, playing games and exploring the woods. Bus transportation is available from Amherst schools.

In the 1980's, educational programs about tropical rainforests and other conservation efforts to help slow accelerating deforestation helped spawn a new industry, ecotourism. Promoted as a solution in struggling economies, this form of travel has grown large in many countries. Critics, however, say that ecotourism causes more harm than help.

This season we will travel back in time to the days of the dinosaurs. Children will learn about dinosaurs through stories, songs, movement and crafts. We will compare different dinosaurs, dig for bones, and learn about the plants they munched on. Come have a dinomite time!

At our construction site 1st Friday of each month 12:30 - 1:00 Open to all, no registration required. Park and meet in the Red Barn parking lot at Hampshire College. Locate it on the map.

This season we will travel back in time to the days of the dinosaurs. Children will learn about dinosaurs through stories, songs, movement and crafts. We will compare different dinosaurs, dig for bones, and learn about the plants they munched on. Come have a dinomite time!

We’ll hike along a northern section of the New England National Scenic Trail in Erving. We’ll have a nice fairly level hike into a short, steep side trail that leads down to the Hermit’s Cave.

Owls are setting up their winter and spring breeding territories right now. And they do that by hooting or making other cool sounds in the night! We'll learn what the calls of the different species sound like and then go out and see if we can locate them vocalizing in the dark.

Join local bird expert Scott Surner for this special fall birding course. There will be an evening class component to prepare for each following field trip. Evening classes will be held at the Hitchcock Center. For all field trips bring binoculars and guides, food and water and dress for the weather. Carpooling will be arranged in class. Space is limited.

Nasami Farm in Whately lies within the Great Swamp, one of the largest and best examples of a perched swamp left in Massachusetts. We’ll examine the trees and look for any wildflowers we might encounter at this time of year.