Humans have been celebrating Earth Day every April 22 since 1970. Today, Earth Day is known as the largest secular observance in the world, marked by more than one billion people every year as a day of action to change human behavior and protect the planet we call home.

At Discovery Place Kids, all month long we’ll be celebrating Earth and learning how we can contribute to keeping our planet safe and habitable for all living things.

Starting the month off, on April 3-4 we’ll be learning how to keep the Earth clean by recycling. Visit us at the Sandhills Stage at 1:30 p.m. for a recycling activity.

Then, on April 10-11 we’ll dive deep into Earth by exploring the different types of soil. We’ll talk about how earthworms are good for the ecosystem and even meet real, wiggly earthworms while observing them travel underground.

The weekend of April 17-18 is all about the life of plants. We’ll be discussing how plants grow by using the acronym LAWNS, which stands for light, air, water, nutrients and space to grow. Little botanists can try out an experiment by putting food coloring in a cup with celery and watching as color travels up the stem.

Wrap up the month with us on April 24-25 as we plant seeds for Earth Day. We’ll also be dissecting a seed while learning how to identify its parts. Then, we will plant a sunflower seed in a biodegradable ice cream cone.

As always, don’t forget to join us for Big Fun, our daily dance party, and our daily Science Show to test your science know-how.