EarthFest 2020 main content.
NASA/NOAA/GOES Project We celebrated the 50th anniversary of Earth Day at our family-friendly, all-day online festival honoring our planet.
*Note: Links to videos of April 22 EarthFest programs are at the beginning of each description, and links to a selection of additional evergreen Earth Day resources are below the schedule.
10 am: Green Thumb for Families
Use this link to watch the program.
Explore botanical biodiversity from home! Submit photos and questions to expert botanist Donald McClelland and learn from him about the plants that live with you and those visible from your window. Then, participate in a special workshop where you'll learn how to plant your own garden and create life right in your own kitchen! Whether it is herbs and vegetables for eating or flowers to admire and decorate your space, everyone will be able to participate of this special green activity with whatever they have available at home.
Send a photo of your plant, your name, and location to [email protected] to participate.
- 1-3 plastic soda or juice bottles
- 12 ft. of strong string
- 1-3 small pieces of screen, mesh, cloth, or landscaping fabric to cover the necks of the bottles to keep soil in but allow water to drain.
- scissors or knife for cutting the bottles and string
- something to make holes in the bottles (hole punch or something similar)
- potting soil (or a piece of cotton ball)
- plants or seeds (or sprout dried beans or peas)
- something to hang garden on in window (optional)
11 am: Iceberg Bits: Understanding Rivers of Ice
Use this link to watch the program.
Tune in to watch facilitator Laurel Zaima from the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory 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, "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.
Activity sheets
Materials:
- 1 bottle of Elmer’s glue (6 oz)
- ½ teaspoon of baking soda
- 1 ½ Tablespoon of contact lens solution (MUST CONTAIN: Boric Acid and Sodium Borate. Renu Fresh or Equate brands are both good)
Steps:
- Get a bowl to mix your Glacier Goo ingredients.
- Pour your entire 6 oz Elmer’s glue into the bowl.
- Add your ½ teaspoon of baking soda and mix thoroughly.
- Slowly add in your contact lens solution. Add it in slowly and mix if possible so that you can adjust and ensure you do not add too much. We like to add a few teaspoons at a time and then mix. Knead and mix thoroughly before adding more as you do not want to add too much or your glacier goo will get too hard. You may not need the full amount so take this step slowly.
- Mix until your Glacier Goo forms and begins to harden.
- Take it out and knead, knead, knead! If it’s not the desired consistency, keep kneading.
Noon: Field Trip Earth—LIVE Watch Party
Use this link to watch the program.
Gather the whole family for a live flight around the world to marvel at our planet’s natural wonders—from the Amazon Rainforest to the Sahara Desert, the Great Barrier Reef, and the Himalayas! Join Director of Astrovisualization Carter Emmart and Museum astrophysicist Jackie Faherty as we blast off into the outer reaches of our atmosphere and see our planet from space. Make sure to come with questions for our presenters to answer live!
1 pm: 50 Years of Earth Day—YouTube Watch Party
Use this link to watch the program.
What has happened to our planet in the 50 years since the creation of Earth Day? Learn about the most significant developments to our environment in the last half century through the thoughtful infographic videos created by the Museum's Science Visualization team since 2017. The watch party will include a live chat with Museum Curator Nathalie Goodkin, and Ana Luz Porzecanski, director of the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, and Laura Moustakerski, writer and producer of the Earth Day 2020 video.
3 pm: Bash the Trash Live!
Use this link to watch the program.
Celebrate the Earth! Follow this live workshop where you can learn how to make your own musical instruments out of recyclable and other discarded materials around your house. Then, join in a multi-media, multi-player performance where you can be part of the orchestra playing for this celebration of Earth.
Note: You don’t need to have materials in order to participate–there’ll be plenty to do. Be sure that everything that you collect is clean, safe, and disinfected. And always check with an adult first!
- small cardboard box
- rubber bands
- tin cans (watch out for sharp edges!)
- plastic take-out containers
- any other plastic/metal drum kind of thing
- chopsticks or pencils for drumsticks
6 pm: Venus, Earth, and Mars–LIVE Watch Party
Use this link to watch the program.
Join us for a night out in the Goldilocks Zone with planetary geologist Martha Gilmore and the Museum’s Director of Astrovisualization Carter Emmart. 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 us for this virtual trivia evening game co-hosted by the Museum and the NYC Trivia League. Gather a team or play solo to compete for a chance to win a spot at a virtual happy hour hosted by Hayden Planetarium Director Neil deGrasse Tyson, featuring Museum scientists.
The Museum has many evergreen resources for learning about Earth Day, biodiversity, and climate. Here’s a selection to explore:
- The Biodiversity section of OLogy, the Museum’s website for kids
- A video about what’s changed since the first Earth Day in 1970
- Tips and resources for living a sustainable lifestyle from the Museum’s Center for Biodiversity and Conservation
- Exhibits on the causes of climate and climate change from the Gottesman Hall of Planet Earth
- An online course from the Museum about Our Earth’s Future
Earth Day 1970 - 2020: 50th Anniversary || Time Will Tell
[American Museum of Natural History logo animates out over an illustration of the rotating Earth.]
[TEXT: The first Earth Day was in 1970, 50 years ago.]
[TEXT: What’s changed since? We have.]
[TEXT: Earth Day 1970 - 2020: 50th Anniversary || Time Will Tell]
[Earth dissolves into a multitude of abstract people figures inside a circle of the same diameter as the globe.]
[TEXT: Our population has more than doubled.]
[Number of figures inside the circle doubles.]
[TEXT: Global population | 1970: 3.7 billion | 2020: 7.8 billion. Source: UN]
[Circle with figures is replaced by a circle containing an abstract cityscape]
[TEXT: We take up more space: built-up area +22 million hectares]
[INDISTINCT URBAN SOUNDS OF PEOPLE AND TRAFFIC]
[TEXT: Total land use (grazing, cropland and built-up areas) | 1970: 4.5 bn ha (45 m km2)| 2015: 4.9 bn ha (49 m km2). Source: Our World in Data & HYDE database]
[Circle containing the cityscape expands. Abstract cow figures form an outer ring.]
[TEXT: We take up more space: grazing +230 million hectares]
[FARMYARD SOUNDS OF CHICKENS, PIGS AND COWS]
[Circle expands again. Abstract corn stalks form an outer ring]
[TEXT: We take up more space: cropland +160 million hectares.]
[SOUNDS OF TRACTOR AT WORK]
[TEXT: We take up more space, putting us in closer contact with wild animals]
[Silhouettes of a bat, pangolin, deer, rodent and other wild animals are arranged on the outside of the circle.]
[SOUNDS OF ANIMALS INCLUDING BIRDS AND WOLVES]
[Circle spins and transforms into a coronavirus silhouette, a ball with knob-like protrusions. Three-quarter of the silhouette is highlighted.]
[TEXT: Three-quarters of new infectious diseases originate in animals. So outbreaks are becoming more common.]
[TEXT: Three-quarters of new and emerging infectious diseases for people—including COVID-19—originate in animals. Source: CDC]
[The coronavirus silhouette shrinks down and multiples into dots. The dots are arranged to form bars in a bar graph, showing increasing rates of disease over three decades.]
[TEXT: Human infectious disease outbreaks | 1980-1990: 991 | 1990-2000: 1,924 | 2000-2010: 3,420. Source: Interface]
[Graph disappears and globe with human figures reappears in the center. Two abstract figures are extracted from the globe, and grow in size to dominate the screen. One figure is labelled “then,” and one is labelled “now.”]
[TEXT: On average, each person produces 21% more CO2.]
[Bars containing an abstract bubbling gas, representing CO2, appear next to each of the two human figures. The bar next to the “now” figure is taller.]
[TEXT: Per capita CO2 emissions | 1970: 4.0 tons | 2018: 4.9 tons. Sources: Global Carbon Project & UN]
[The two figures are holding nozzles from a gas pump.]
[TEXT: Per capita fossil fuel use: +47%. Source: Our World in Data & BP]
[SOUNDS OF A BELL DINGING AT A GAS STATION]
[Gas nozzles are replaced by hamburgers. The hamburger held by the “now” figure is larger.]
[TEXT: Per capita meat consumption: +65%. Source: Our World in Data & FAO]
[SOUNDS OF COW MOOING]
[Hamburgers are replaced by plastic bags. The “now” figure is holding more bags.]
[TEXT: Per capita plastic production: +447%. Source: Our World in Data & Geyer et al.]
[SOUNDS OF CRINKLING PLASTIC]
[Plastic bags are replaced by suitcases]
[TEXT: Per capita airplane trips: +561%. Source: World Bank]
[SOUNDS OF AN AIRPLANE TAKING OFF]
[Human figures disappear. Two bars containing bubbling CO2 multiple into a long series of bars, showing annual growth in CO2 emissions over decades]
[TEXT: Together, we’ve emitted 1.2 trillion tons of CO2 since 1970.]
[TEXT: Global CO2 emissions (tons) | 1970: 14.9 billion | 2018: 36.6 billion. Source: Global Carbon Project]
[CO2 bubbles fill the screen. Screen fades to black, then back to white. Turning globe reappears in center.]
[TEXT: What else has changed since 1970? Our planet has.]
[Small dots encircle the globe, representing CO2 molecules. They multiply.]
[TEXT: There’s more CO2 in our atmosphere.]
[SOUNDS OF TRUCK ACCELERATING]
[CO2 molecules scroll off the globe, which disappears. Molecules form a line graph showing 26% global rise in CO2 over decades.]
[TEXT: Atmospheric CO2 (parts per million) | 1970: 326 ppm | 2019: 411 ppm. Source: NOAA]
[Line from line graph levels out and becomes the ocean surface. Bubbles beneath the surface represent CO2.]
[TEXT: There’s more CO2 in our atmosphere and in our oceans,]
[SOUNDS OF WATER MOVING]
[TEXT: causing ocean acidity to rise: +4% acidity per decade]
[Water level rises and fills the screen.]
[TEXT: Warmer waters and more acidity can impair animal shell formation. Source: BioScience & IPCC]
[Screen is black. White line graph draws on, over an abstract thermometer that is filling, representing temperature rise over decades.]
[TEXT: and Earth’s surface to warm: +1°C]
[TEXT: Global land-ocean surface temperature (compared to 20th Century average) | 1970: -0.01°C | 2019: +0.98°C. Source: NASA/GISS]
[Black background turns white. Line from the graph tilts in the opposite direction, forming a downward slope, representing annual ice loss from Greenland over decades.]
[SOUNDS OF BREAKING ICE AND A STREAM OF WATER]
[TEXT: Glaciers are melting. Greenland ice is melting 6x faster.]
[Water runs down slope into the ocean.]
[TEXT: Greenland ice loss (annual average) |1980-1990: 51 bn tons | 2010-2018: 286 bn tons. Source: PNAS]
[Ocean water level shown with abstract city skyline in background.]
[TEXT: Sea levels are rising: +3.3 cm per decade.]
[SOUNDS OF WATER SLOSHING AROUND]
[TEXT: Global average sea level compared to 1993 | 1970: -6.2 cm | 2019: +9.6 cm. Source: NASA & NOAA]
[Ocean and cityscape scroll off screen. Large, swirling symbol for hurricane rotates on screen.]
[TEXT: Extreme weather events are more common.]
[SOUNDS OF HOWLING WIND]
[A bar graph shows annual storm events over decades.]
[SOUNDS OF RAIN AND WATER]
[An abstract graphic of a house mostly submerged in water replaces hurricane symbol, representing floods. The bars in the bar graph are extended upwards, to include annual flooding events, which are also increasing.]
[SOUNDS OF BURNING, CRACKLING WOOD]
[An abstract forest burns, replacing the flooded house. The bars in the graph extend upwards again, to include annual drought and forest fire events.]
[TEXT: Extreme weather events (storms, floods, droughts & forest fires), 1980-2018: +44% per decade. Source: BioScience & Munich Re]
[Screen fades to black and then back to white.]
[TEXT: What else has changed since 1970? We have.]
[Music lightens and colors are introduced to the black-and-white palette. Many indistinct graphs appear, suggesting data and scientific research.]
[TEXT: We now understand the impacts of our habits on the Earth.]
[SOUNDS OF DATA TRANSMISSION]
[Graphs disappear and turning globe reappears center screen. Globe is enclosed in an abstract pattern suggesting pollution.]
[TEXT: We have the evidence. We know what we need to do: Cut carbon emissions and other greenhouse gases.]
[Pollution disappears from globe.]
[TEXT: Restore and protect natural habitats on land and at sea.]
[Black-and-white rotating globe turns green and blue, signifying clean land and water.]
[TEXT: Together we can do it.]
[SOUNDS OF BIRDS AND NATURE.]
[Abstract wind turbines pop out of the globe and spin.]
[TEXT: We are already using more renewable energy: wind power 32x more capacity]
[TEXT: Wind energy (total installed capacity, megawatts) | 2000: 17,278 MW | 2018: 563,726 MW. Source: IRENA]
[Wind turbines are replaced by solar panels.]
[TEXT: solar power 400x more capacity]
[TEXT: Solar energy (total installed capacity, megawatts) | 2000: 1,227 MW | 2018: 485,826 MW. Source: IRENA]
[TEXT: We are already: restoring and expanding forests]
[Globe transforms into a circular patch of brown soil, with a dozen or so trees growing.]
[TEXT: +3.2 million km² green leaf coverage since 2000]
[TEXT: Global green leaf coverage, 2000-2017: +2 million sq miles (3.2m km2), a 5% increase. Source: NASA]
[Circle of trees is replaced by circle looking into a colorful coral reef, as if through a porthole.]
[SOUNDS OF BUBBLES UNDERWATER]
[TEXT: We are already: protecting more marine areas]
[TEXT: +27 million km²]
[TEXT: Designated marine protected areas |1970: 0.1% of ocean | 2020: 7.4% of ocean. Source: UN & IUCN]
[Circle becomes a dartboard, with each ring labelled. The outermost ring is labeled The Globe. The innermost circle is labeled You.]
[TEXT: The globe, nations, states, cities, companies, you!]
[TEXT: We are already: setting carbon-reduction targets to stay below 2°C warming]
[TEXT: Paris Agreement (2015): Limit warming this century to 2°C above pre-industrial levels | 195 signatories. Source: UN]
[Dartboard falls away and graph appears, showing declining birth rates over decades.]
[SOUNDS OF BABY CRYING GENTLY.]
[TEXT: Birth rates are declining. 1970: 4.5 births per woman. 2020: 2.5 births per woman.]
[TEXT: Global fertility rates (live births per woman, average) | 1970: 4.5 | 2020: 2.5. Source: UN]
[Graph disappears and plate of salad and grainy bread takes center screen.]
[TEXT: Our diets are changing.]
[TEXT: Global beef consumption (per capita, annual) | 1970: 10.8 kg | 2020: 9.3 kg. Source: UN FAO]
[Plate disappears and is replaced by chalkboard. Two pie charts are drawn on, showing change in literacy rates.]
[TEXT: We are becoming better educated]
[SOUND OF CHALK DRAWING ON CHALKBOARD]
[TEXT: Global literacy rates: then 65%, now 86%.]
[TEXT: Global adult literacy rates| 1976: 65% | 2020: 86%. Source: World Bank]
[Chalkboard disappears and is replaced by statement.]
[TEXT: We are demanding action.]
[Screen fills with photos of protestors at climate marches around the world, carrying signs. Photos disappear.]
[TEXT: The past is clear.]
[Graph is drawn showing CO2 emissions in gigatons over decades. Starting point is 1980 and ending point is labelled Now.]
[TEXT: The future is ours to create.]
[Graph extends into the future, showing four possible scenarios, each resulting in a different rise in global temperature, depending on the amount of CO2 emitted.]
[TEXT: 2070 scenarios: +4°C, +3°C, +2°C, +1°C]
[SOUND OF CHEERING WHEN +1°C SCENARIO APPEARS.]
[TEXT: Scenarios: To stay under 2°C warming, models show we must reduce CO2 emissions dramatically and quickly. Source: Global Carbon Project]
[TEXT: What will Earth Day look like in 50 years? It depends on how much we cut CO2 emissions today.]
[Graph disappears. Rotating globe covered with waving country flags takes center screen.
[TEXT: Together, we decide.]
[Sphere with flags dissolves into rotating Earth.]
[Credits roll.]
The Milstein Science Series is proudly sponsored by the Irma and Paul Milstein Family.
In 2020, the Museum is celebrating the legacy of Charles Hayden, whose vision made the Hayden Planetarium possible and brought the universe to New York City.