Mud, bugs, leaves, twigs, flowers, fire, and other natural materials made for a fun day of nature exploration and learning for kids and families at Discovery Museum’s second annual free Nature Play Festival on Friday, July 10. More than 1,500 residents of Acton and beyond enjoyed the festival and museum exhibits with free admission all day and into the evening.
The event is, very simply, about getting kids and families outside to play. “Nationally, the average elementary schooler spends less time outdoors than the average incarcerated adult,” said CEO Marie Beam. “It is our job to help children feel connected to the wondrous diversity of nature — both for all its benefits now and so they will stand up for it in adulthood. It all starts with going outside to play.”
Immersive programs ran throughout the day including Treehouse Yoga, guided nature walks on the Great Hill Conservation Land, Invasive Plant Papermaking, Fire Starting with Owl Eyes Survival and, a visitor favorite, Bug Hunts! Bubble stations and a Mud Kitchen were available throughout the event.
The breadth of activities onsite and the day’s logistics were greatly supported by businesses and groups based in Acton and nearby. Local and regional businesses, nonprofits, and community groups filled the campus with fun nature-themed activities, including Acton Memorial Library, Mass 350 MetroWest, First Connections, TimberNook, Farrington Nature Linc, and more.
The Acton public schools and Congregation Beth Elohim supported the day by allowing the Museum to use their parking lots for visitors, who were transported by TransAction Associates shuttle buses to and from the festival. Generous underwriting support from Middlesex Savings Bank and Rockland Trust helped to make the day free for all.
Acton resident and 350 MA member Andy Platt helped run the 350 MA exhibit at Nature Play day. 350 MA is an environmental organization dedicated to educating and advocating for a transition to a more sustainable earth in light of the challenges presented by climate change. After helping children and their parents play the “Earth in The Balance” game to learn how human decisions can positively impact or undermine the “balance” of our world, Platt reported, “One of the things we noticed at this year’s event was that when offered the choice between climate-friendly and climate-damaging options, the children who played the game were clear what they wanted — almost all more environmentally friendly options. We tried to encourage the kids playing the game to choose a few of the options that would warm the climate, so that they could see the Earth fall out of balance into the ‘red zone’ and also see how pro-environmental choices can balance out carbon emissions. The group of kids at the Discovery Nature Play Day argued with us that they did not want to make environmentally damaging choices! It brought home to our team how little any of us want to live in an environmentally degraded world, especially the young people who will have to grow up in it!”
Discovery Museum enjoys tremendous support from Acton’s state and federal elected officials, and they were all represented at the event. In attendance were State Senator Jamie Eldridge and State Representative Simon Cataldo, as well as representatives from the office of Representative Dan Sena and the offices of U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey, and U.S. Representative Lori Trahan.
Each spoke to gathered visitors about Discovery Museum’s impact and important role in our communities. You can hear their spoken comments and see the festival in action in this piece produced by ActonTV.
In his remarks, Representative Cataldo said, “In the age of artificial intelligence, the type of education and resources and services that are being provided [by the Discovery Museum] are how we are going to keep our humanity.”
Discovery Museum is proudly screen-free but did use a live display at the event to show the output of the museum’s solar panels. Discovery Museum creates 100% of its electricity through on-site solar and is a carbon-neutral organization.
“Some of our young visitors were fascinated by the solar output display,” said Senior Director of Development Tobey Fossey. “One girl asked me what it meant and then stomped her foot and said, ‘My family is still using fossil fuels!’ Moments like this are exactly what the Nature Play Festival is all about. Watching children connect with nature, ask thoughtful questions, and demonstrate a genuine commitment to caring for our planet was seeing the festival’s mission come to life before our eyes.”
This article was written by members of the Discovery Museum staff.
Andy Platt contributed to this article. Andy has lived in Acton for 50 years and is an active member of the 350 MA climate action organization.
