Magic in the Air – Earth Day Kids Fest
Nikki Murphy, CNC Community Programs Coordinator
You follow the ramp around to the door; you can hear the music getting louder and the squeals of the kids already inside. While waiting, you have a moment to admire the stunning orange native azalea plant that perfumes the air. You head through Admissions and step back outside, blinking, into the warm spring sunshine. Up and down the hill, the buzz of excitement is contagious – Earth Day Kids Fest is here! Up the hill, you notice a telescope pointed at – the sun? The video monitor next to it shows a huge, active swirling ball of gas. The Charlie Bates Solar Astronomy Project is here to showcase the sun in all its glory and to give you free solar viewing glasses! Also on the meadow, get active with Ready, Set, Grow games. Across the meadow, you spy that same beautiful orange azalea you saw while in line earlier! The CNC Plant Sale volunteers tell you it’s a Florida Flame Azalea – a perfect native plant to add to your garden! While you’re here, go ahead and grab some lunch from one of the food trucks – The Pup Truck and Nectar both offer delicious vittles for the whole family.
After lunch, head down the hill to the other activities. Get that perfect photo op in the big raft courtesy of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area; pick up some paddling skills while you’re there for a great summer outing on the river. Paint a rain barrel with the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper and register for their drawing to take one home with you!
Check out the enclosed bee hive with the Metro Atlanta Beekeepers – can you find the queen? Learn a little about the multitudes of foods that would not be possible without pollination from these insects. Speaking of plants, visit One Entertainment Group to plant a flower to help feed the bees. Put it in a recyclable container and take it home with you while learning more about how much trash we toss is recyclable.
As you ponder what other unique things can be recycled, you come across a car that runs completely on used vegetable oil! Veggie Oil Conversions picks up used oil from participating Atlanta area restaurants and recycles it into fuel for their car. As you finish visiting the exhibits, you see piles of shoes – which reminds you to get the shoes you brought to donate from your car! Pebble Tossers is collecting, sorting and sizing them to ship to needy school children in other countries. It’s not quite recycling – it’s re-using, which is even better! School kids get new shoes, you get to clean out your closet and things stay out of the landfill – everyone wins.
