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Nature Centers

Visit one of Massachusetts' many nature centers, and you'll learn about the fascinating world around you.

At the Bristol County Natural History Center, south of Boston, enjoy live exhibits, ponds, wetlands, beaches, meadows and forest displays. The EcoTarium in Worcester is an indoor/outdoor museum dedicated to exploring the natural world, with three floors of interactive exhibits, wildlife exhibits, nature trails, ponds and award-winning meadow, planetarium and train ride. The Hitchcock Center for the Environment in Western Massachusetts provides nature trails, field trips, an environmental and natural history library, games, educational activities and more.

For something out of the ordinary, Davis' Farmland and MegaMaze in Central Massachusetts has lots of child-friendly farm animals, and, in late fall, a corn-stalk maze with three miles of pathways and bridges over eight acres.

Love clams? Sign up with Cape Cod Clamming Trips in Brewster, and dig for your own tasty bivalves.

Quick hits:

Butterflies abound at The Butterfly Place in the Greater Merrimack Valley...you'll also stand among the winged beauties in the Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory and Gardens in Western Massachusetts, with an 8,000-square-foot tropical conservatory that's home to almost 4,000 live butterflies...At the North American Wolf Foundation at Wolf Hollow in Ipswich, north of Boston, learn about North American gray wolves and their environmental roles in a natural habitat.