Nature Play Festival at Discovery Museum—Free!
Acton, MA – Discovery Museum will host a Nature Play Festival on Friday, July 11, 2025, 11:00am to 7:00pm, with free admission for all. The Museum’s full hours that day will be 9:00am to 8:00pm, with free admission through all hours.
At Nature Play Festival visitors can explore and learn outdoors throughout the campus and inside, with immersive nature-based activities including Invasive Plant Papermaking, Mud Kitchen, Bug Hunts, Log and Rock Flipping, and more. Hands-on activities will be offered in the giant, wheels-accessible treehouse and Discovery Woods nature playscape, and visitors can take a guided Nature Walk on the Great Hill Conservation Land that abuts the campus. The fun will continue indoors with exhibit galleries exploring the properties of air, water, light and color, sound, math, building, making and tinkering, and more.
Discovery Museum will also unveil its newest exhibit, Play Inside a Solar Cell, a fun, playful, no-tech way to explore how a solar cell works to create energy from sunlight. This staff-conceived and designed exhibit has been in development for more than a year. The exhibit was funded in part by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Local organizations will be on site with activities and information for kids and families, including: 350 MA Metro West Node, Acton Conservation Trust, Acton Memorial Library, All Energy Solar, Danny's Place Youth Services, EnergizeActon.org, Farrington Nature Linc, First Connections, Lowell Parks and Conservation Trust, Mass Audubon, Mill City Grows, Owl Eyes Wilderness Survival, The Nature Connection, TimberNook Middlesex County, and the Town of Acton Sustainability Office.
There will be food, music, and fun as we connect with nature and appreciate the wonderful planet we all call home. State and local officials will be on hand to celebrate with the community. Free admission for all. Rain or shine.
What: Nature Play Festival
When: Friday, July 11, 11am to 7pm (Museum also open 9am to 8pm)
Cost: FREE
Where: Discovery Museum, 177 Main Street, Acton, MA
Registration: Not required nor available
Overflow parking: A free shuttle will run continuously from 10:15am to 8:15pm to Congregation Beth Elohim, 133 Prospect Street in Acton, .8 miles away.
Rain Date: none, the event will happen rain or shine
Thank you! Discovery Museum’s first-ever Nature Play Festival is made possible by Enterprise Bank and Middlesex Savings Bank, with additional support from Analog Devices.
*************
About Discovery Museum
Discovery Museum is a hands-on museum for families that blends science, nature, and play. The museum and its Discovery Woods accessible outdoor nature playscape and giant treehouse blend the best of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) learning on a beautiful 4.5-acre campus abutting 180 acres of conservation land in Acton, MA, about 20 miles west of Boston. Originally founded in 1982 and expanded to two museums in 1987, the museum reopened in a single, 16,000sf accessible building after a complete renovation and expansion in early 2018. Hands-on, open-ended exhibits developed by professional educators inspire curiosity and exploration, providing a fun and engaging experience for children and adults to discover their world together. Serving families and schools from towns throughout the region, the museum is devoted to informal education that enhances classroom learning. Discovery Museum is committed to accessibility and is a proud recipient of the Massachusetts Commonwealth Award, the only winner in the Access category, and a LEAD® Community Asset Award from The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
In 2024 Discovery Museum was awarded a National Medal for Museum Service from the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the nation’s highest honor awarded to museums that make “significant and exceptional contributions to their communities.” Discovery Museum is a community-supported non-profit organization.
###