Gloucester Education Foundation's Power of Play Festival

Gloucester Education Foundation is proud to host Power of Play Festival, a day of play for Gloucester Massachusetts families and kids of all ages. Gloucester Education Foundation's Power of Play Festival

Gloucester Education Foundation hosts the annual Power of Play Festival in Gloucester Massachusetts. GEF’s annual “Day of Play” is back for an 8th year on Sunday, March 22! This FREE community event draws hundreds of Gloucester families to the GHS Field House to participate in dozens of fun activities, led by community volunteers and partners. Check out photos below from past years by community volunteer Marty Del Vecchio and GHS student photographers, and this video by 1623 Studios! Together, they will give you a taste for this beloved event.

Games:

  • Mini Badminton & Soccer
  • Jumbo Lawn Games
  • Carnival Games
  • Solo Cup Satcking
  • Matchbox Car Races
  • Board Games & Puzzles

Create:

  • Body Tracing with Pathways for Children
  • Weaving Wall with Pathways for Children
  • Coat of Arms Collage
  • Community Puzzles with GHS Artists
  • Veggie Stamping with The Open Door

Build:

  • Box Forts
  • LEGO
  • Mega Blox
  • Magnatile Marble Runs
  • Robot Building with the Sea Cadets

Discover:

  • Gardening and Growing with Backyard Growers
  • Mystery Seed Match 
  • Herb Perfume Lab
  • How Many Veggies Tall Am I?
  • Microscope Detectives
  • And: Compost Toss Game with Black Earth Compost

Touch: 

  • Sensory Activities with Kindred Gardens
  • Shaving Cream Construction
  • Rice Play
  • What's Inside? Mystery Touch
  • Diggin in the Dirt

Move: 

  • Musical Chairs with GHS Band | 11 and 11:30am 
  • North Shore Karate Academy | 11:50am 
  • Improv with MAGMA | 12:30pm
  • Silent Dance Parties | 12:50 & 1:40pm
  • Capoeira with MAGMA | 1:10pm
  • Circus Play with Seaside Circus

Why Play Matters:

  •  Play helps kids learn how to learn! Through play, kids hone their creative and critical thinking skills, figure out how to work together, and test their ideas.
  • Play is something every child, everywhere in the world can do. It fuels curiosity, sparks creativity, and inspires a lifelong love of learning.
  • Play is a universal language! Whether you speak English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Arabic, or use American Sign Language, play bridges

Gloucester Education Foundation is a nonprofit organization made up of parents, teachers and community volunteers. We drive innovation in the Gloucester Public Schools, supporting programs ranging from music and theater; to literacy and art; to technology, math and science.

www.thinkthebest.org

When: 
Sunday, March 22, 2026 11am-2pm
Phone: 
978.282.5550
Appleton Farms offers great farm-based Vacation Week Programs for kids ages 5-11

Babson Farm Quarry Self-guided Walking Tour at Halibut Point

Kids will enjoy this tour of the Halibut Point State Park and Quarry with a focus on its stone-cutting history!
Take a self guided tour at one of Massachusetts most beautiful locations!
7:00 am to 6:00 pm

Wednesday, April 1

Babson Farm Quarry Self-guided Walking Tour at Halibut Point

Kids will enjoy this tour of the Halibut Point State Park and Quarry with a focus on its stone-cutting history!
Take a self guided tour at one of Massachusetts most beautiful locations!
7:00 am to 6:00 pm

Mini Movers at North Shore Children's Museum

Things to do for children in Peabody MA
Mini Movers is an engaging dance and movement class for young children at the North Shore Children's Museum. Led by experienced instructors, the program introduces young children to the world of dance in a safe and nurturing environment.
10:00 am to 11:00 am

Stargazing at Mendel Observatory

Mendel Observatory, with the support of volunteers from the North Shore Amateur Astronomy Club, hosts public stargazing every Wednesday night
The Observatory, with the support of volunteers from the North Shore Amateur Astronomy Club, hosts public stargazing every Wednesday night (weather permitting) starting at dusk or 7:30 pm, whichever is later.  When special astronomical events of interest occur (total lunar eclipses, etc.) the Obs
7:00 pm

Thursday, April 2

Babson Farm Quarry Self-guided Walking Tour at Halibut Point

Kids will enjoy this tour of the Halibut Point State Park and Quarry with a focus on its stone-cutting history!
Take a self guided tour at one of Massachusetts most beautiful locations!
7:00 am to 6:00 pm

Friday, April 3

Babson Farm Quarry Self-guided Walking Tour at Halibut Point

Kids will enjoy this tour of the Halibut Point State Park and Quarry with a focus on its stone-cutting history!
Take a self guided tour at one of Massachusetts most beautiful locations!
7:00 am to 6:00 pm

Saturday, April 4

Babson Farm Quarry Self-guided Walking Tour at Halibut Point

Kids will enjoy this tour of the Halibut Point State Park and Quarry with a focus on its stone-cutting history!
Take a self guided tour at one of Massachusetts most beautiful locations!
7:00 am to 6:00 pm

Music and Movement at North Shore Children's Museum

North Shore, North Shore Childrens Museum in Peabody MA
Music and Movement with Marybeth Maes is an engaging music and movement class for young children at the North Shore Children's Museum. Marybeth brings her guitar and instruments for the children to use while they sing, dance, and play.
10:00 am to 11:00 am

North Shore YCLP Youth Climate Summit 2026

Mass Audubon's North Shore Youth Climate Leadership Program (YCLP) invites you to their annual Youth Climate Summit at Peabody Essex Museum in Salem Massachusetts
Mass Audubon's North Shore Youth Climate Leadership Program (YCLP) invites you to their annual Youth Climate Summit, designed by youth, for youth. Youth Climate Summits are an opportunity for young people ages 13-18 to learn about climate change, climate justice, and climate solutions.
1:00 pm to 3:30 pm

Sunday, April 5

Babson Farm Quarry Self-guided Walking Tour at Halibut Point

Kids will enjoy this tour of the Halibut Point State Park and Quarry with a focus on its stone-cutting history!
Take a self guided tour at one of Massachusetts most beautiful locations!
7:00 am to 6:00 pm

CraneOutdoors: Castle Neck Hike in the Dunes

Hiking the Dunes at the Crane Wildlife refuge with the Trustees of Reservations.
While just about everybody on the North Shore has probably been to Crane Beach, the dunes of Castle Neck are a much less explored world unto themselves. Offering one of the most accessible dune ecosystems north of Cape Cod, Castle Neck has over six miles of trails, traversing the dunes, maritime...
1:00 pm to 3:30 pm