03/12/2026
By Ellen Anstey

Be part of Lowell’s April PLAYcation Week!

April PLAYcation is happening from April 18–26 and Lowell National Historical Park is looking for free activities for kids hosted at various locations or organizations to be part of our Collaborative Sessions. (Similar to what happened in February for Lowell Kids Week.)

We would especially love for UMass Lowell departments, centers, groups and clubs to be part of the Friday, April 24 Collaborative Session happening at the Tsongas Industrial History Center. This would include table activities in our 4th floor space and a chance to show off all that is special about UMass Lowell. Email Ellen_Anstey@uml.edu if you have questions.

A huge thank you to everyone who participated in Kids Week 2026. Because of you, we collectively reached over 900 children and family members during February school vacation week!

If you're sad the fun is over, we have good news for you-- it is time to start planning for next month's April PLAYcation! We are once again looking for program submissions for two different types of programs.

Collaborative Sessions

After the success of our collaborative "Kids Week Presents:" sessions last month, we are very excited to offer three similar opportunities for PLAYcation. These sessions will be:

  • Wednesday, April 22, 10 a.m.-noon (Outdoors-- Boarding House Park) Hosted by Lowell Public Schools and Lowell National Historical Park
  • Thursday, April 23, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.(Outdoors-- JFK Plaza) Hosted by the City of Lowell
  • Friday, April 24, 1-4 p.m. (Indoors-- Boott Cotton Mill Museum) Hosted by the Tsongas Industrial History Center and Lowell National Historical Park

The goal of these sessions is to help reduce overlap of programs happening in different places across the city and provide a centralized location where families can interact with many organizations and activities at once. Participating in one of these collaborative sessions means bringing a drop-in activity to a central location. This way families can spend an extended period of time exploring many activities from multiple organizations.

Programs at Your Location

Events may take place during the day or evening and should be held in Lowell – either in your space, a free space provided by another organization, or virtually via a platform like Zoom or Webex. All events must be offered free of charge. Traditionally, the target age range for Kids Week activities has been ages 4-12, but we are open to programs for toddlers and teenagers as well. We always ask that children under the age of 16 be accompanied by an adult.
In previous years, Kids Week events have included arts and crafts, games, performances, sports, workshops, and more. For example:

  • Nature walks with the Lowell Parks and Conservation Trust 
  • Swimming and ice skating with the Lowell Recreation Department
  • Glow in the Dark Bowling at the Coalition for a Better Acre 
  • A Lego challenge at the Pollard Library 
  • Fabric Printing at Lowell National Historical Park 

Program Submission Forms

  • Collaborative Sessions: If you are interested in participating in a collaborative session, please complete the Collaborative Sessions form to express interest by Friday, March 20
  • Programs at your location: Please fill out the Programs Interest form by Friday, March 20 with the information you want to appear on our PLAYcation Schedule.

This year we will be trying our best to add events to the Mosaic Lowell Kids Week/PLAYcation calendar on a rolling basis as they are submitted, so if you are deciding between several possible times for a program at your location, feel free to check out what is already planned to help us spread programs out throughout the week!

As always if you have any questions or would like to chat about programs, please email Nadia_Peattie@nps.gov (978-970-5048), or Ainslee_Moorehead@nps.gov (978-970-5031).

Nadia Peattie, Park Ranger
Lowell National Historical Park