Earth Day 2022: Events and Activities to Celebrate with Kids
There is no better time to teach your kid a little bit more about preserving the Earth than on Earth Day! As New Yorkers, we might feel like we can’t contribute as much as others because of the city life, but there are actually more opportunities than you think. So get the family together and spend some time making this world a better and healthier place for all of us!
Are you looking for another fun activity to do with the kids this year? Check out Legoland New York Officially Opens for The Season!
Manhattan
Supertall Forms: Inspired by Nature!
The Skyscraper Museum, 39 Battery Pl, New York, NY 10280
April 16, 10:30am
Free, Advanced registration required
Let’s get ready for Earth Day! Did you know that architects often design buildings inspired by nature? The China Resources Tower in Shenzhen, China is nicknamed “Spring Bamboo,” because it looks like a new shoot emerging from the ground. After a tour of the SUPERTALL exhibition, young architects will create their own skyscraper designs using recycled materials.
Earth Day 2022 Festival
Union Square, E 17th St & Park Ave SNew York, NY 10003
April 21, 12-7pm
Free
Show up for the environment this spring, learn what you can do in your own life, and check out a line-up of virtual speakers and partners who in recent years have included Bill Nye, Al Gore, Elizabeth Warren, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Broadway performers from Hamilton and Jagged Little Pill, experts, and activists. The event includes kids activities, dozens of environmental organizations and climate campaigns like March for Science and Fridays for Future, and live speeches and performances.
India at 75 Celebration: The Tree Hugger
Children’s Museum of Manhattan, 212 W 83rd St, New York, NY 10024
April 22, 2 pm & 3 pm
Included with $15 admission, Advanced registration required
Using Indian classical dance, The Tree Hugger tells the true story from 1730 India of Amrita Devi. Amrita and her three daughters make the ultimate sacrifice to protect the trees in their community, which moves their village, and later the entire country, inspiring the 1970s environmental movement called CHIPKO. Aditi Dhruv from Thresh Dance will be performing this beautiful script written by author Mona Sehgal.
Kids Week: Earth Day Celebration Hike
Payson Park House in Inwood Hill Park, 285-287 Dyckman St, New York, NY 10034
April 22, 1-2pm
Free
Celebrate Earth Day today with a fun-filled hike dedicated to nature and the earth.
Saturday Family Workshop: Earth Day Celebration
Rockefeller Park Basketball Court, River Terrace & Murray Street, Battery Park City
April 23, 11am-12:30pm
Free
In celebration of Earth Day, take inspiration from the practice of Mottainai in Japan which encourages all to be thoughtful about waste. Create and share a zero waste ochiba art design and enjoy a dynamic live drumming performance by Taiko Masala.
FAD Market: Earth Day Pop-up
The High Line, 180 10th Ave, New York, NY 10011
April 23, through April 24, Saturday and Sunday, 11am-6pm
Admission is free; prices vary for goods
FAD Market celebrates Earth Day with a pop-up market featuring sustainable and local brands. Shop over 40 talented makers, designers, and small businesses based in New York City with an emphasis on BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) and women-owned brands. Come for a curated selection of goods including handmade jewelry, apparel, body and skincare, tableware, and artisanal packaged food.
Earth Day at Dyckman Farmhouse Museum
Dyckman Farmhouse Museum, 4881 Broadway @, W 204th St, New York, NY 10034
April 23, 10am-2pm; 1-2pm, kids activities
Free
Garden enthusiasts are invited to help rake the gardens, trim the bushes, weed, and distribute mulch throughout the property. This year’s Earth Day celebration is perfect for anyone looking to do hands-on garden activities. Kids activities include seed bomb making- a beautiful and powerful idea to grow plants anywhere you like and invite Nature into your life!
Animal Exploration: Earth’s Little Helpers
Urban Farm at Randall’s Island Park, Wards Meadow Loop, East Harlem
April 24, 2:15-3:45pm
Free
Young animal lovers will have the opportunity to make observations, ask questions and use their senses to discover a world filled with amazing creatures! Meet LIVE animal visitors, including incredible insects, fantastic frogs, beautiful birds, cute critters, terrific turtles, and long-tailed lizards! Practice showing respect and kindness for all animals by using gentle hands, quiet voices and kind words to greet some new animal friends.
Brooklyn
Earth Rocks
Brooklyn Children’s Museum, 145 Brooklyn Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11213
April 16 through April 24, 10am–1 pm and 2–5pm, daily
$13, Advanced Registration Required
Celebrate our amazing planet Earth and explore the mysteries of the sky, sea, and soil.
Earth Day Block Party
PS Family NYC, 297 Livingston St, Brooklyn, NY 11217
April 23, 11am-5pm
Free
PS Family NYC is celebrating the opening of their new office in Downtown Brooklyn with an Earth Day Block Party featuring an interactive play about recycling in honor of Earth Day, fun activities from The Department of Sanitation, library card sign up and more.
B’Earthday Bash
Prospect Park Audubon Center, 101 East Dr, Brooklyn, NY 11225
April 23, 1-4pm
Free, Advanced registration required
It’s Earth Day, the Prospect Park Audubon Center’s 20th Anniversary, and the birthday of two legends: naturalist John James Audubon, and… the 200th anniversary of the birth of landscape architect and Prospect Park’s creator, Frederick Law Olmsted! Celebrate with activities for all ages that celebrate the historic and environmental importance of Prospect Park, Brooklyn’s slice of nature and home to a thriving ecosystem of hundreds of species of plants and animals, 30,000 trees, Brooklyn’s only lake and last remaining forest.
DTBK Presents: Downtown Brooklyn Car-Free Earth Day Event
Albee Square, Corner of Fulton and Bond, Downtown Brooklyn
April 23, 12-3pm
Free
Come out for an exciting and earth-friendly activation on the plaza at Albee Square. Albee Square West will also be closed to traffic all day, so bring your bike, your roller skates, and your beach chairs and enjoy a car-free street!
Earth Day
Main Street Terrace at Brooklyn Bridge Park, 334 Furman St, Brooklyn, NY 11201
April 23, 10am-3pm
Free
Join Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy for Earth Day 2022 and the arrival of spring in Brooklyn Bridge Park. The Conservancy is excited to continue this special Earth Day tradition with a yoga class, self-led volunteer opportunities, nature walks, education programs and much more. There will be a fun lineup of community partners hosting fun, educational activities related to all things Earth Day.
Earth Day Magazine Mandalas
MakerSpace NYC at Brooklyn Army Terminal, 140 58th St building b unit 1c, Brooklyn, NY 11220
April 23, 12-2pm
$10 per person, Advanced registration required
Create Magazine Mandalas using a cardboard box as the canvas, with images cut from magazines and bringing the vibrant colors and patterns into the design. Paint pens are used to add detail. Magazine Mandalas are practically mistake proof, easy to make, beautiful & sustainable!
Queens
Earth Week Flushing Meadows
Flushing Meadows Corona Park, 117-02 Roosevelt Ave, Flushing
April 17 through April 23, See website for schedule
Free, Advanced registration required
Join the Environmental Stewardship Team at Flushing Meadows Corona Park for this annual Earth Week celebration! There will be activities taking place at the park from Sunday to Saturday. Demonstrate your support for environmental protection and preservation at FMCP while helping upkeep your local neighborhood park.
Bee-A-Pollinator : Earth Day Service Day
Queens County Farm Museum, 73-50 Little Neck Parkway, Floral Park
April 22, 2-5pm
Free, $8 donation encouraged
Join the Queens Farm outdoors for a volunteer service day marking the 52nd anniversary of Earth Day. Help preserve this historic farmland with an afternoon of outdoor activities highlighting simple ways you can give back to the farm and our planet. Volunteers will assist with sifting compost, spring clean-up in the Children’s Garden, mulching, weeding, and more. This Service Day also includes apiary talks with the farm’s resident beekeeper, a compost giveback, Adopt-a-Worm composting tips at the ConEdison Ecology booth, tractor-drawn hayrides ($5/person), a self-guided scavenger hunt, and free giveaways.
Kids Week: Earth Day Nature Puppet Show
Fort Totten Visitor Center in Fort Totten Park, 212th Street and Bell Boulevard, Bayside
April 22, 11am-12pm
Free
Celebrate Earth Day and enjoy nature and Earth Day related puppet shows.
Green Garden/Green Earth
The Voelker Orth Museum, 149-19 38th Ave., Flushing
April 23, 1-3:30pm
$5 per person or $12 per family; Members: $4 per person or $10 per family
Reconnect to our natural world and be good stewards of our planet through reusing and recycling the materials of everyday life. Activities include feeders for wild-birds, window-sill plantings, a scavenger-hunt, and other activities.
Earth Day Celebration
Alley Pond Environmental Center, 224-65 76th Ave, Bayside, NY 11364
April 22, 10:30-11:45am
$24, Advanced Registration Required
Enjoy an Earth Day book, meet live animals, and learn about choices you can make to help Mother Nature. The group will also take a relaxing outdoor nature walk, incorporating Earth-inspired yoga poses.
Climate Arts Festival
Queens Botanical Garden, 43-50 Main St, Queens, NY 11355
April 24, 11am-4pm
$6; $4 Seniors (age 62+) and Students with ID; $2 Children (ages 4 to 12); free for children 3 and younger and members. Registration recommended; Walk-ins welcome
Join Queens Botanical Garden and the Southeast Queens Arts Alliance (SEQAA) for a day at the Garden aimed to empower the community to collectively acknowledge, reflect on, and face our international climate crisis. Immerse yourself in creative workshops, art exhibits, interactive performances, and compost and farm tours and demonstrations. Together we reckon with how the climate crisis is impacting our lives and adopt practical changes on a local level to counteract climate change–not just for Earth Month, but every day moving forward.
Earth day in Hollis
Hollis Playground, Hollis Ave &, 204th St, St. Albans, NY 11412
April 24, 3-5pm
Free, Advanced registration required
Try your hand at clay-pot painting and take part in a seedlings give away with Abuela Neighborhood Maintenance, nature and mental health discussion with The4AirProject, and music workshop by The Nett-Work Inc DJs.
Bronx
Family Fun Hike: Celebrating Planet Earth
Van Cortlandt Golf House, Van Cortlandt Park South & Bailey Avenue, Bronx
April 16, 10am-12pm
$15; $5 child
Come together to celebrate all the wild creatures on planet Earth! Keep your eyes and ears open for signs of forest creatures. Van Cortlandt Park is home to squirrels, raccoons, chipmunks and the occasional groundhog. Can you spot a nest? Or a secret burrow? Afterwards, create your own creatures using pinecones and other natural material. Read Aloud Story: My Friend Earth by Patricia MacLachlan.
Kids Week: Earth Day Recycling Re-creations
Crotona Nature Center in Crotona Park, Crotona Park East and Charlotte Street, Bronx
April 22, 1-2pm
Free
Celebrate Earth Day today by gathering your recyclables and creating art with the Urban Park Rangers!
Family Art Project: Gratitude Garden for Earth Day
Wave Hill, 4900 Independence Avenue, Bronx
April 23 and April 24, Saturday and Sunday, 10am-1pm
Free with admission
Reflect on what you appreciate about Earth by making a mini sculpture using bright oil clay colors. Add a flower inspired from Wave Hill’s gardens, and include an affirmation or action you will take to continue to help keep our planet safe and healthy for all living things.
Westchester
Pitch in for Parks 2022 at Saxon Woods Park
Saxon Woods Park, 1800 Mamaroneck Ave, White Plains, NY 10605
April 21, 10am-1pm
Free, Advanced Registration Required
Volunteers will paint, rake, prepare and plant flower beds, plant trees, clear trails and shorelines, restore wildlife habitats and remove invasive vines from trees. Join in this community effort and help clean up one of Westchester’s most valuable assets! All tools will be provided but please bring your own water.
Earth Day
Rockefeller State Park Preserve, 125 Phelps Way, Pleasantville
April 23, 10am-4pm
Free
Immerse yourself in nature and learn about topics such as clean water initiatives, sustainability, native plants and pollinators, wildlife conservation, and more! Plant seeds to take home, watch a birds of prey demonstration, and participate in a “BioBlitz” to learn more about biodiversity within the Preserve. The rain date is set for April 24.
12th Annual Earth Day Festival
Louis Engel Waterfront Park, 25 Westerly Road, Ossining
April 23, 10am-5pm
Free
Spend the day by the Hudson River celebrating Mother Earth and learn how to reduce your impact on the environment. Enjoy food, hands-on activities and eco-demonstrations, artists and artisans, kid’s activity zone, vegetarian and vegan fare, craft beer, food foraging, textile recycling and e-waste drive, Drum and Ukulele circles (BYO) and more!
Earth Day Celebration
Cross County Center, 8000 Mall Walk, Yonkers
April 24, 12-3pm
Free
Earth Day is all about making the world a healthier, happier place to live. Bring the entire family to see the live show, Professor Winklebottom’s Earth Science Circus, followed by arts and crafts. There will be a DJ with live music and Bess the Bee character to entertain kids.
Long Island
Earth Scientists
Patchogue-Medford Library, 54-60 E Main St, Patchogue, NY 11772
April 11, 4:30-5:15pm
Free, Advanced registration required
Cleaning up Earth has never been more fun! Explore the dangerous effects of oil spills and water run-off through an educator-led watershed model demonstration. Decorate a tote bag to reuse.
Recycled Ocean Jewelry
The Whaling Museum, 301 Main St, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724
April 22, 1-3pm
$10; $5 member plus admission: $6; $5 seniors 62 and older and children 4-18; free for children 3 and younger and those with Active Military with ID
Did you know you can turn old newspapers into gorgeous, sustainable jewelry? Make your own recycled-paper beads and use them to decorate a necklace featuring a genuine sea glass charm!
Earth Day
Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery & Aquarium, 1660 NY-25A, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724
April 22, 11am-3pm
$7; $6 seniors 65 and older; $5 ages 3-12
What better way to celebrate Earth Day than by learning about plants? Become a nature detective by identifying seeds, learn what plants need to grow, and what we get from plants. Make your very own “seed bombs” to take home and plant your own little patch of nature.
Earth Day at Garvies Point Museum
50 Barry Dr, Glen Cove, NY 11542
April 22, 10am-4pm
$5; $3 children 5-12 yrs
Celebrate Earth Day with nature inspired activities including a nature walk, a terrarium workshop, and film.
Spring Break Fun: Earth Day
Patchogue-Medford Library, 54-60 E Main St, Patchogue, NY 11772
April 22, 1:30-3:30pm
Free
What do a butterfly, a robot and a rainbow all have in common? They can be created using recycled material and a little creativity. Join the library for an Earth Day drop-in, upcycle craft session. Bring in plastic, cardboard or paper to Reduce. Reuse.
Earth Day Festival
Hempstead Lake State Park Environmental Education and Resiliency Center, Eagle Ave., West Hempstead
April 23, 11am
Free
Enjoy a day of fun activities, crafts, and more to celebrate our planet. If you are planning on attending, there is A $8 parking fee per car.
Earth Day Everyday – Celebration of our Planet
Sweetbriar Nature Center, 62 Eckernkamp Dr, Smithtown, NY 11787
April 24, 1-3pm
$10 per child; $5 adults. Advanced Registration Required
Celebrate the wonders of the natural world and living things that share the planet with us. Children will meet resident animals, enjoy the natural world through their senses, and go on a scavenger hunt to find out some of the things they can do to help the natural world. Come away with a craft to help reduce your impact on the Earth.
Rockland/Bergen
Earth Day Volunteering
Cropsey Community Farm, 220 S Little Tor Rd, New City, NY 10956
April 22, 10am-4pm
Free
Spend the day at Cropsey Farm — taking in the fresh air, getting your hands dirty, and reconnecting with nature. This will be a great opportunity to meet the farm team as well as fellow volunteers, and to help prepare the flower garden for the season ahead. Tasks will entail some shoveling, raking and weeding to prep the beds, and moving wood chips and spreading them out to create pathways. Please send an email to marisa@rocklandfarm.org to RSVP, or if you have any questions.
Earth Day 2022 at HHNM: ‘It’s a Small World’
Hudson Highlands Nature Museum’s Outdoor Discovery Center, 120 Muser Drive, Cornwall
April 23, 10am-2:30pm
$10, Advanced Registration Required
Enjoy a Naturalist guided Earth Day walk focused on some of the smallest but most important creatures on the planet! Insects may be little but they are a big factor in the health of Earth. Take the whole family out for Earth Day to stroll, learn, and play on the trails of the Outdoor Discovery Center. Try your hand at using sweep nets in the fields, log rolling in the forest, and find out who lives in the center’s pond.
Guided Family Day Hike
The Nature Place Day Camp, 285 Hungry Hollow Rd, Chestnut Ridge, NY 10977
April 23, 10am-2pm
$25; $10 per child, Advanced Registration Required
Celebrate Earth Day with a hike in Harriman! Hike along the Fawn and Timp-Torne trails, through groves of Mountain Laurel and enjoy fantastic views along West Mountain.
Earth Day Celebration
Trailside Museum and Zoo at Bear Mountain State Park, 55 Hessian Drive, Highland Falls
April 23, 11am-3pm
$1 per person suggested donation
Come to Trailside’s Bear Den between 10:30 & 11:00 am when the zookeepers will be putting out treats & decorating the Bear Den. At 11:00 am, the bears will come out of their dens to gobble up treats. Family-friendly fun with an Earth-friendly focus! Nature-related displays & activities! See spring-themed animal enrichment!
Community Day: Celebrating Earth
The Newark Museum of Art, 49 Washington St, Newark, NJ 07102
April 23, 12-5pm
Free, Advanced registration required
Celebrate our amazing planet in a day of fun for the whole family! Enjoy musical performances by Bash the Trash, get up close with live animals, and more. There’ll be artmaking activities, interactive tours, storytelling, and special planetarium shows. Don’t forget to explore Dynamic Earth and Endangered!, immersive experiences of different natural environments, and check out stations by Aerofarms and STEAM Urban. Grab something tasty at one of the food trucks, available outside the South Wing entrance.
