Party for the Planet at Sedgwick County Zoo *Thursday April 23rd 9 am – 2 pm

Party for the Planet presented by Meritrust, Westar Energy and Black Hills Energy
Thursday, April 23, 2015

9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m

Sedgwick County Zoo is planning a Party for the Planet to celebrate Earth Day! This FREE environmental fair gives everyone the opportunity to learn how to protect and care for the world we live in. With hands-on activities and interactive exhibits, there are many learning opportunities for children. Activities are geared towards third through fifth grade.

Admission:

Admission is FREE the entire day, but the exhibitors are only here from 9 a.m. to 2:00 p.m

Photo Credit - Sedgwick County Zoo — Photo Credit – Sedgwick County Zoo

Exhibitors/Activities:

Allpak Battery ~ Solar display truck with trailer

Black Hills Energy~ Hand out bookmarks with seedlings attached for kids to later plant. Will also have a compressed natural gas Ford truck on display to show what a CNG vehicle looks like

Botanica~ To look through a pollinator’s eyes and learn their color and shape preferences. Each child will take home a small seed packet of pollinator blend flower seed.

City of Wichita~ Public Works & Utilities Children will be guided through several “stations” to learn about the steps in sewage treatment. They, they will plant a flower in treated solids that are generated by the treatment plant.

Exploration Place~ Wind turbines

Great Plains Nature Center~ Participants will use their sense of touch to identify furs and skulls that they cannot see

Kansas Geological Foundation, Kansas Geological Society, & Kansas Geological Survey~ Educate participants about the geologic rock cycle and how rock is recycled

National Weather Service~ Be prepared. Be safe. Be aware of the weather conditions around you by keeping an eye on the sky.

Ohana Halau Hula Troupe~ Performing hula dance for entertainment. Will bring samples of fun and interesting things to make from recycled materials.

Patton Termite & Pest Control, Inc~ Excluding pests in an environmentally friendly way

Sedgwick County Conservation District~ We have a stream bank teaching tool stressing protection of stream banks to save soil and protect water.

Sedgwick County Extension Center (Master Gardeners)~ Samples of compost, warm compost box, posters, composters to interact with children and questions for them to answer.

Sedgwick County Zoo (Education Department)~ Will have table filled with biofacts for students to touch and educators that students can ask questions of. The topic of focus will be African elephant poaching and the 96 Elephants campaign.

Smithfield~ Packaging that is friendly to the environment and packaging that is not friendly to the environment.

Spirit AeroSystems~ Demonstrate how Spirit’s reuse of 2 million gallons of water a day benefits the business, community and environment. Kids can get an H20 Willy hand stamp at the exhibit as well and interact with “ROBI” the recycling robot.

Starkey, Inc.~ Learn about recycling electronics

Tanganyika Wildlife Park~ Students will participate in a short, interactive game that showcases facts about decomposers (especially cockroaches) and recycling

Ulrich Museum of Art at Wichita State University~ Kids will be challenged to create a four letter “Wish for the Planet” in the style of Robert Indiana’s LOVE image

Waste Control & Recycling Coalition~ To teach the kids the importance of recycling; will have a bale of pop bottles on display; will let kids make dreamcatchers out of recycled materials

Westar Energy~ Will have their 30 ft Safety Trailer there as the exhibit