As we take some time to celebrate Earth Day, we wanted to share some of the history of the event, and let you know about some activities you could do with kids to teach them about the importance of the world we live on.

Earth Day was started on April 22, 1970 by a group of university student activists and a senator from Wisconsin. It was created as a way to set aside time to educate people about the environment, and what they could do to protect it. The day, April 22, was chosen because it falls in between many school’s Spring Break time, and they wanted to get as many students involved in Earth Day as possible to help spread the word.

The movement started in the United States, but it gained momentum quickly. Earth Day became a global event in 1990, with more than 200 million people across 140 countries participating in events. Now, over 1 billion people are involved in Earth Day activities making it the largest civil event in the world.

If you are looking for some way to get kids involved in Earth Day, there are some simple activities you can do.

Go on a Nature Walk – This may seem like an easy activity, but it can be both fun and informative for kids. Take them on a nature walk in the neighborhood, or just in the backyard. You can research some plants beforehand, and then during the walk, tell the kids all about the plants or animals they are seeing. ( https://www.pbs.org/parents/thrive/15-ways-to-celebrate-earth-day-with-kids )

Create a Coffee Filter Earth – Grab a few round coffee filters and flatten them out. Then you can have kids color on them with washable markers (so it doesn’t get too messy). It can be blue and green for sea and land, or they can get more creative with different colored Earths. ( https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/coffee-filter-earth/ )

Make a Recycled Rainbow – This may seem a little messy, but it doesn’t need to be. Collect a bunch of scrap paper, or materials you aren’t using, and put them in a bin. Then kids will dig through the scrap paper and sort them into the colors of the rainbow, to create a recycled rainbow. It teaches kids about reusing materials, and its fun! ( https://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2011/03/trash-rainbow-craft.html )