This Wednesday, April 22 is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. It marks a day where the world celebrates, and shows its support for, environmental protection. It is a day of action and a day to show what people can accomplish.
Why is this day so important? What is the significance of the date? Is it really an international effort? Can I really make a difference?
How to Start: All scientists have to know how to conduct research. You can start by asking questions, like the ones above. Any and all questions are fair game, the only bad question is the one you don’t ask. It is important to remember that scientists have the responsibility to conduct a thorough investigation, which means they have to be aware of what they know, and what they don’t know. So, what don’t you know about Earth Day? Have the family create their list. Don’t forget to find out how the different parts of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) are all core to environmental protection.
What to do next: Conduct your research. Look up the answers to your questions on credible sites or in credible books. But… how do you know if a site or book is credible? Great question! I have provided some links below that can help you figure that out.
Expand it: How can you bring in other content areas?
What would an Earth Day post be without a call to action? You’ve conducted your research, you understand why Earth Day is important, now it’s time to do something about it. There are so many different activities you can do, both short and long term, to celebrate Earth Day. The hardest part will be to narrow down the ideas. Below are some questions to help guide you and your family through the process:
- Do you want to do something just for today? This week? The entire year?
- Do you want to do something at your home? In your neighborhood? For your town?
- What type of environmental protection are you interested in? Would you prefer to help people? Animals? Plants? Do you want to participate in scientific research (yes, that’s right, YOU can help scientists in their research)? Or, would you rather focus on studying and learning so that you can design and conduct your own research?
STEAM Resources:
- Sciencing site on how to conduct scientific research: https://sciencing.com/steps-procedures-conducting-scientific-research-6900127.html
- Georgetown University information on how to evaluate internet resources: https://www.library.georgetown.edu/tutorials/research-guides/evaluating-internet-content
- PBS activity on assessing sources: https://www-tc.pbs.org/now/classroom/acrobat/lesson07.pdf
- Earth Day Network: https://www.earthday.org/
- NASA Earth Day resources: https://www.nasa.gov/content/earth-day-2020
- NOAA Earth Day resources: https://www.noaa.gov/topic-tags/earth-day
- EPA Earth Day resources: https://www.epa.gov/earthday
- National Park Service Earth Day resources: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/npscelebrates/earth-day.htm
- Citizen science project ideas: https://www.citizenscience.gov/catalog/#
- There are a TON more sites from federal and local governments that provide Earth Day resources. Just search “earth day 2020 gov”.
-Peace
The Unexpected Parent-Teacher 