Animals, experiments and art highlight the natural world around us
CINCINNATI – As technology rapidly advances the great outdoors is more often experienced through an Instagram photo than it is by one’s own eyes. Yet there is so much the outdoors has to offer that can only be experienced at its source. Earth Day provides an opportunity to stop and literally smell the roses, hear the birds and step into the water. Cincinnati Museum Center is helping to educate the current and future generations of environmentalists with a series of Earth Day programs and activities April 19 through 22.
Education is critical as people work together to protect and preserve our natural world. Hands-on programs in the Museum of Natural History & Science on April 19 & 20 show how everyday activities can have a big environmental impact. “Earth’s Energy” explores how geothermal technologies allow us to harness the Earth’s heat to generate electricity and heat our homes, an eco-friendly alternative to fossil fuels. You can also take a taste test comparing bottled, tap and filtered water in “Water Tasting to Stop Wasting.” The program will discuss the environmental impact of the three forms of water and ways to conserve water at home and in your garden.
Exposure to the natural world is just as important as education. Take an up close and personal look at some of Museum Center’s furry, scaly and shelled friends during “Animals Up Close,” “Bat Flight” and “Animals in Nature.” Meet turtles, snakes, frogs and many more animals as you learn about your neighbors from the natural world. You can also explore other natural items in Nature’s Trading Post. Bring in something you found in your own backyard and tell us about it, then trade it in for an arrowhead, deer antler or trilobite fossil.
The Duke Energy Children’s Museum is even using art to demonstrate the importance of a healthy ecosystem. On Earth Day, April 22, children can create their own colorful watersheds during “Young at Art: Watershed.” They’ll learn what a watershed is and how it works while gaining a better understanding of why it’s important to keep them clean and free of pollution.
Cincinnati Museum Center will also be taking their environmental education programs on the road on April 19 as part of Earth Day activities at Sawyer Point, an event that has helped Cincinnati be recognized as one of the ten best cities in the nation for Earth Day celebrations. Museum Center will also be given the Environmental Award by Greater Cincinnati Environmental Coalition for their efforts on behalf of the environment, making the Greater Cincinnati area a better place to live. The work of institutions like Cincinnati Museum Center are large factors in Cincinnati being rated the 7th greenest city in the country.
“Environmental awareness and involvement is critical for children as they grow up in a natural world that needs our help,” says Douglass McDonald, president and CEO of Cincinnati Museum Center. “We’re committed to lifelong learning and environmental education is a lifelong pursuit that we hope we can inspire people of all ages to pursue.”
The University of Cincinnati is helping Cincinnati Museum Center increase their educational outreach with a new component in the Museum of Natural History & Science opening April 22. The new component Climate Change and Us is part of the Glacial Geology Hall and highlights scientific research and discoveries concerning the effects and causes of global climate change. Climate Change and Us uses extinct and endangered specimens from Museum Center collections and video interviews of researchers sharing their work to demonstrate the effects of global climate change.
Environmental education is an everyday pursuit at Cincinnati Museum Center and Earth Day provides just a sampling of what Museum Center has to offer. Join in the activities April 19 through 22 as Museum Center celebrates the natural world around us. For more information on activities and programs at Cincinnati Museum Center visit www.cincymuseum.org