Earth Day lasts all week long at the New York Hall of Science, which is hosting a series of events as part of its Sustainable Spring Break program.
Kids can design tools to clean up waterways, learn about solar energy with a 140-watt, cat-shaped solar panel, use beeswax and fabric to fashion a reusable food wrap and participate in other activities designed to teach them about the environment and conservation.
Earth Day falling on the city’s spring break provided a unique opportunity to focus on sustainability, according to Liz Slagus, director of public programs at the Hall of Science. The hall’s initiative is slated to run from Monday to Friday, April 26.
“This topic is in the news, on people’s minds, discussed in schools and around dinner tables, and this week we want to address sustainability in a fun context to promote dialogue, as well as a sense of agency and hope for positive change through information and learning,” Slagus said.
One of the hands-on activities, Extreme Events, explores the effects of climate change and the use of green infrastructure. Young urban planners can decide how to redesign a vacant lot or learn how soil stores carbon by checking out the outdoor garden titled Carbon Sponge.
Another highlight is the visit from a 1974-era transit bus that has been transformed into the solar-powered BioBus. Visitors can speak with scientists and check out a state-of-the-art microscope.
Other activities include films and a preview of the Gazillion Bubble Show, featuring bubble magic.
For more dates and times of events go to nysci.org.
