There will be more than 150 free events on the islands this summer, compared with about 50 several years ago. This summer, Spectacle and the other islands are participating in first lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move Outside!” campaign, which encourages national parks to create programs to encourage outdoor physical activity. “I’d come again, since they can swim and there are so many activities for them.” “We’d heard so many things about the island that we wanted to see it,” Broderick said. That’s enough to make the island a destination, said Claire Broderick of Quincy, as she watched her children, Brianna, 11, and Robert, 8, find moon jelly fish, hermit crabs and other sea life on a ranger-led scavenger hunt. Many visitors share his surprise at the wide variety of free programs: nature walks, beach exploration, group runs, junior ranger activities, fishing clinics, kite flying, kayaking instruction, yoga, Zumba, jazz concerts and special events like Family Fitness Day on July 16. “I didn’t realize there would be a whole bunch of activities and programs.” “This is just a wonderful day,” said Alan Walters, who took the guided nature walk and then relaxed on the drumlin top with his friend, Karina Altayeva, 23, of Quincy. But the Boston Harbor Island Alliance, which promotes the islands and is a partner of the National Park Service, hopes to change that with its new visitor center on the Rose Kennedy Greenway and its wide range of free programs and activities. Opened to the public just five years ago, it is less well-known than Georges Island, the most frequently visited of the six islands open to the public. Spectacle Island, only 15 minutes from Boston by ferry, is one of the best illustrations of the slogan of the Boston Harbor Islands: Minutes Away, Worlds Apart. “It’s very nice, and larger than I expected. “I wanted to come here and see what happened with all the fill from the Big Dig,” said Johnston, of Chelsea. With a sea breeze cooling the heat from the bright sun, Emily and her father, Donald Johnston, had a perfect day to take advantage of Free Ferry Day, which drew 2,332 people to Spectacle and Georges Island on June 21. “Look!” said Emily, who had been collecting wildflowers on the guided nature walk. But then she stopped suddenly and pointed to a pink beach rose. Emily Johnston, 7, bounded up the trail as she neared the highest point on Spectacle Island.
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