The American Museum of Natural History recently announced a slate of programming to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, including an all-day, online EarthFest on Wednesday, April 22, and the premiere of a new video on Saturday, April 18, featuring the latest scientific data that highlights how Earth – and humans – have changed since the annual day was inaugurated in 1970.
On Wednesday, April 22, the Museum’s annual EarthFest will offer a series of online engagements to let everyone celebrate the beautiful planet we call home, from home, beginning at 10 am EDT. These will include family-friendly botany and climate science workshops with hands-on activities that viewers can participate in using household items, live virtual guided flights over Earth and through the universe with space scientists, a YouTube watch party and live chat with Museum scientists, and an Earth-themed online trivia night with special guests.
EarthFest programming, which will be accessible via individual links available at amnh.org/earthfest, includes:
- 10 am: Green Thumb for Families: Explore botanical biodiversity from home! Viewers will learn about the plants in and around their house from expert botanist Donald McClelland, who will also be answering questions and facilitating a special workshop where viewers will learn how to plant their own garden and create life right in their own kitchen! Viewers will be able to participate with whatever they have available at home.
- 11 am: Earth & Climate Science at Home Activity with Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory: Join facilitators from the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory as they present activities demonstrating glacier physics through experimentation with Glacier Goo, a substance you can create at home. Named for small pieces of ice found in both Arctic and Antarctic, iceberg bits or “Bergy Bits” in nature are small pieces of floating ice that break from an iceberg, ice shelf, or glacier. Join in by doing these experiments at home to better understand these rivers of ice.
- Noon: Field Trip Earth: LIVE Watch Party: Gather the family for a live flight around the world to marvel at our planet’s wonders—from the Amazon Rainforest to the Sahara Desert and the Great Barrier Reef! Join Director of Astrovisualization Carter Emmart and Museum astrophysicist Jackie Faherty as they use new interactive data visualization software OpenSpace to view our planet from outer space and take viewers questions in real time.
- 1 pm: 50 Years of Earth Day Watch Party: Learn about the most significant developments to our environment since 1970 through infographic videos created by the Museum since 2017, including the Museum’s latest Earth Day video, premiering on YouTube this Saturday, April 18. The event will include a live chat with Museum Curator Nathalie Goodkin and Ana Luz Porzecanski, director of the Museum’s Center for Biodiversity and Conservation.
- 6 pm: Venus, Earth, and Mars: LIVE Watch Party: Join planetary geologist Martha Gilmore and the Museum’s Director of Astrovisualization Carter Emmart for a night out in the Goldilocks Zone. Hop aboard a live flight to unveil the mysteries of Earth’s toxic twin, Venus, and the dynamic nature of our planetary neighbors. What can Venus and Mars teach us about climate change and the unique conditions that support life on Earth?
- 8 pm: Earth Trivia! A Toast to the Planet!: Think you know the Earth? Prove it! Pour yourself a glass of your favorite drink and join this virtual trivia evening game co-hosted by the Museum and the NYC Trivia League. Gather a team or play solo in this Earth-themed evening for a chance to win a virtual happy hour with Museum scientists! The night will feature facts from our beloved planet in the form of multiple-choice questions, video content, bonus rounds with special guests, space travel, and more.
