The American Museum of Natural History presents their annual EarthFest, including: a live performance featuring puppetry and animation that displays cultural relationships with animals; a live virtual guided flight showing climate science from the vantage point of satellites; a live program and chat with conservation scientists; a virtual dance party, and more.
EarthFest schedule is as follows:
11 AM EST: Animal Tales with American Lore Theater
In this family-friendly program featuring live performers, puppetry, animation, and music, Coyote tells the tales of three different animal species in North America: an orca, a softshell turtle, and a spider. Viewers can learn how these species are represented in Indigenous folklore as well as in modern stories in this presentation, which shows our cultural relationship with these species and displays the major threats and conservation hurdles they face. Written and performed by Charlotte Ahlin, Isabella Madrigal, and Elise Wien. Music by The Lobbyists.
1 PM EST: Astronomy Online: From Sun to Sea Life
Viewers take a virtual flight around the world with Museum Curator Nathalie Goodkin and observe how our Sun, atmosphere, and ocean work together to create the weather we experience today and our climate over time. Earth’s atmosphere, ocean, and climate evolved in ways that greatly impact life on our planet. From vantage points of satellites observing Earth, viewers will witness phenomena like the El Niño Southern Oscillation and learn about the deep-rooted connection between ocean currents and life. This EarthFest program is part of the Museum’s Astronomy Online series, which offers monthly live tours of the universe on the their YouTube channel.
2 PM EST: The Scientist Is In: Conservation in Action
Learn how scientists understand and protect the Earth in this program featuring scientists from the Museum’s Center for Biodiversity and Conservation as they present their research. This includes: presentations about new methods to track turtles with Suzanne Macey; how the relationship between predators and prey affects restoration of wetlands with Alex Moore; the new technology that can help count and identify animals from images and video with Peter Ersts; and how people of different cultural traditions care for and protect habitats with Puaʻala Pascua. This EarthFest program is part of the Museum’s family-friendly The Scientist is In series, which features interactive discussions with scientists.
3 PM EST: Earth Day Dance Party
Hosted by Party Like Brooklyn, this all-ages dance party is designed to “cheer for all the things that make our planet great,” according to a spokesperson for the event. This dance party includes special effects, tunes, and interactive games for an online, after-school dance special.
7 PM EST: Frontiers Lecture: Unlocking Climate Data in Corals
This event is an Earth Day edition of the Museum’s Frontiers Lecture series with Museum Curator Nathalie Goodkin. Viewers learn about how sea surface temperatures, salinity, and ocean circulation systems change over time and why they are critical to forecasting climate in the future. Viewers will also learn how marine geochemists use hydrographic data repository in corals to gain insights into climate activity over seasons, decades, and even hundreds of years.
For more information, visit the American Museum of Natural History website.
