Massachusetts

What to do during April’s school vacation week in Central Massachusetts

Published

2 years ago

April 15, 2024

What to do during April’s school vacation week in Central Massachusetts

School vacation this week means ample free time for kids across Worcester. Luckily for them and their parents, many kid-friendly events are happening throughout the week for school vacation.

Whether you’re looking to soak up the sun this week or stay inside and learn something new, here are some programs happening throughout the week.

Davis Farmland is open in Sterling this week. Davis Farmland has over 20 acres of children’s play, hayrides, pony rides, slides and more. Tickets are on sale now. Davis Farmland is home to North America’s largest collection of endangered livestock breeds. Along with the pony rides, kids can help farmers milk a goat, collect chicken eggs and bottle-feed baby animals.

The EcoTarium is offering free admission Monday. All week, the EcoTarium is offering events and programs each day relating to astronomy. Special to school vacation week, the EcoTarium has educational programs that focus on light pollution, animals and fungi.

The American Heritage Museum is open for families to explore all week. Tuesday, the museum is offering free admission. Special events for kids and families include scavenger hunts, board games, hands-on show and tell and more. Save $2 per ticket online.

The Worcester Art Museum has school vacation week workshops all week. All workshops include a visit to the museum galleries and learning from artists and museum educators. According to the Worcester Art Museum, the program’s goal is to develop skills that lead to more creativity.

This weekend, Old Sturbridge Village invites families to learn about the outdoors, the history of New England’s environment and sustainability in honor of Earth Day, April 22. Special talks and tours include learning about native plants, guided nature walks, beekeeping and more. More information can be found on Old Sturbridge Village’s website.

The New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill has a drop-off program for kids coined Spring Discovery Week. The program goes on all week. Each day, kids will learn about a different theme related to nature. Children will participate in field studies, art projects, games and more. For more information, visit the New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill’s website. The deadline for ticket purchasing is Tuesday morning.

The Salisbury Mansion has events planned all week for April school vacation. All the programs are 1800s-themed including a “Little Women” dress-up and picture book reading, tours about how children lived in the 1800s and a Revolutionary War tour. There is limited availability, so families are encouraged to reserve in advance.

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Massachusetts

Watch Live: 2025 Massachusetts high school football championship games at Gillette Stadium

Published

4 hours ago

December 4, 2025

Press Room

Watch Live: 2025 Massachusetts high school football championship games at Gillette Stadium

December 4, 2025 / 9:04 AM EST
/ CBS Boston

Sixteen high school football teams are playing at Gillette Stadium this week looking to become a Massachusetts state champion at the home of the New England Patriots.

All eight Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) state football championship games are being played Thursday, Friday and Saturday in Foxboro.

Where to watch high school football championships

You can watch all of the games streaming live in the embedded video on CBS News Boston. All of the games on Friday and Saturday will also be broadcast on WSBK TV-38 in the Boston area.

Here’s the schedule for the games at Gillette Stadium:

Thursday, Dec. 4
Division 7: Amesbury (2) vs. Cohasset (1), 5 p.m.
Division 6: Fairhaven (3) vs. Norwell (1), 7:45 p.m.*

Friday, Dec. 5
Division 5: Foxboro (2) vs. Shawsheen Tech (1), 5 p.m.
Division 3: North Attleboro (7) vs. King Philip (1), 7:45 p.m.*

Saturday, Dec. 6
Division 8: Randolph (4) vs. West Boylston (3), 10 a.m.
Division 4: Tewksbury (2) vs. Scituate (1), 12:45 p.m.*
Division 2: Bishop Feehan (2) vs. Catholic Memorial (1), 3:30 p.m.*
Division 1: Xaverian (3) vs. St. John’s Prep (1), 6:15 p.m.*

*Game times are approximate

This is the 18th year that Gillette Stadium is hosting the Massachusetts state championships.

High school football championships tickets

If you want to go to any of the games, you must get your tickets online first. They will not be sold at the stadium and will only be available through Ticketmaster. All tickets are digital and you can access them with the Gillette Stadium app. It’s recommended that you add your tickets to Apple Wallet or Google Pay.

Tickets are $22.45 each and parking is included. Children age 5 and under can get in free. A ticket will get you into Gillette for each of that day’s games, but tailgating is prohibited and once you leave the stadium, you can’t get back inside.

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Massachusetts

Massive 14-foot shark dies after being stranded on Massachusetts beach during migration

Published

16 hours ago

December 4, 2025

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Massive 14-foot shark dies after being stranded on Massachusetts beach during migration

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A 14-foot-long thresher shark died Tuesday after becoming stranded in shallow water off the coast of Massachusetts.

The New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance (NECWA), a nonprofit organization that responded to the scene, told Fox News Digital Wednesday that the shark was first spotted alive at Mayo Beach in Wellfleet, Massachusetts. Unfortunately, the animal died just before NECWA arrived at the site.

“Yesterday morning, NECWA received numerous calls about a possibly live thresher shark that was stranded in shallow water off Mayo Beach, Wellfleet, MA,” the alliance said in a Facebook post Wednesday. “Our team jumped into action and rushed to the site to try and rescue this shark. Unfortunately the animal died just before the team arrived.”

Photos from the scene show the large-eyed, slender thresher lying on the shore with an extremely long, whip-like tail, measuring about half the length of its body. The shark appeared injured with visible track-like marks on its body.

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A thresher shark is examined after becoming stranded on shore in Wellfleet, Massachusetts. (New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance)

NECWA noted that the animal was already in poor condition by the time their team arrived and that a necropsy of the animal had been conducted.

“The fish that died in Wellfleet was alive when first sighted but was not in great shape,” Marine Biologist and President of NECWA Krill Carson told Fox News Digital.

Fox News Digital reached out to shark biologist John Chisholm for more information on the necropsy.

GREAT WHITE SHARK LURKING NEAR NORTHEAST VACATION SPOT, DRONE VIDEO SHOWS

A 14-foot-long shark stranded at Mayo Beach in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, on Dec. 2, 2025. (New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance)

The organization said strandings of thresher sharks are particularly common during the colder months along the shores of Cape Cod. Carson added that the majority of stranded threshers they encounter are male.

“Not unusual for thresher sharks to strand in New England in the fall as they are trying to navigate to warmer waters to the south,” the organization said in the Facebook post. “Like many marine animals, this shark took a wrong turn and ended up in Wellfleet’s inner harbor.”

A shark appearing injured dies after getting stranded off Mayo Beach, Wellfleet, Massachusetts, on Dec. 2, 2025. (New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance)

After becoming stranded, thresher sharks are at high risk of dying because they cannot tolerate prolonged exposure to cold temperatures, Carson said. She noted that bay water temperatures at that time were roughly below 50 degrees and continued to drop.

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A male thresher shark was found stranded during migration. (New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance)

“A handful of threshers strand each season as they get trapped inside Cape Cod and are unable to continue their migration south,” Carson told Fox News Digital. “If they stay in our area too long, then they will become cold-stunned or cold-shocked and die.”

NECWA is an all-volunteer nonprofit organization. Contributions can be made at necwa.org.

Bonny Chu is a Digital Production Assistant at Fox News Digital.

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