by Audrey Trieschman

AMC's Kids Outdoors Boston and Mommy Poppins Boston are pleased to collaborate on a series of guest blog posts about things to do for families visiting Boston. Mommy Poppins Boston is the ultimate guide to what and where to do, see, read, splash, play, eat, learn, and enjoy in Boston.

Each year on or around April 22, Boston comes alive with many special events to celebrate Earth Day. Kids learn about how they can help protect the the environment and how your family can become more green. From community service projects like the DCR’s Park Serve Day and festivals at the Spellman Museum and EcoTarium to outdoor festivals at the Franklin Park Zoo, families can get out, have fun, and make a difference.

Celebrate Earth Day - Spellman Museum of Stamps & Postal History, Weston
Tue 4/22
Adults $8; Seniors and students $5; Children (5 to 16) $3        

Families can celebrate Earth Day at the museum:

• Bring in used objects to be recycled by decorating them with stamps.
• Create recycled envelopes to send Earth Day Greetings (museum pays the postage)
• See the special exhibit of The Environment of Stamps
• Create a world map using animals from around the globe
• Free packet of stamps for each child
• Stamp hunts for prizes

Earth Day Festival - EcoTarium, Worcester 
Fri 4/25
Half-price admission        

Enjoy half price admission and a day of family and earth-friendly activities and entertainment during the annual Earth Day festival.

DCR’s Park Serve Day - Statewide
Sat 4/26
FREE

During this statewide day of volunteer service, people come together to get parks and beaches across Massachusetts ready for summer by cleaning coastlines, clearing trails, planting flowers, painting picnic tables, and more. Visit the website to find a participating park.

National Park Week - Statewide
4/19-4/27
FREE admission

National Park Week a chance to explore the nation’s nearly 400 national parks. With 14 parks to visit in Massachusetts alone, it’s a great opportunity for families to discover spectacular scenery, historic landmarks and cultural treasures.

Party for the Planet - Franklin Park Zoo, Dorchester
Sunday, 4/27
Free with admission

Celebrate Earth Day at Franklin Park Zoo, where visitors learn more about the incredible animals that call the Zoo home as well as ways everyone can contribute to a healthy planet.

Discovery Day: eARTh day - Discovery Museums, Acton
Tue 4/22
Free with admission        

Kids take a closer look at the natural world around them and try their hand at turning trash into treasures. From making observations in your science journal to repurposing electronic equipment, let’s use our creativity to help make the Earth a better place.

Musketaquid Earth Day - Emerson Umbrella Center for the Arts, Concord
Sat 4/26
FREE

It's a day of music, dance, wildlife puppetry and sculpture, local food, and kids activities, all in celebration of Earth Day. Schedule of events:

• 10am: River Ceremony - Lowell Road Boat Launch
• 11am: Parade - Lowell Road Boat Launch to Emerson Umbrella Center for the Arts
• 11:30am-2pm: Music, dance and children’s activities at Emerson Umbrella Center for the Arts

Wake Up the Earth Parade and Festival - Jamaica Plain/Roxbury
Sat 5/3
FREE

The streets of Roxbury are filled with a river of color, music, and fun as residents, schools, community centers, and others wear colorful costumes, display banners and artwork, dancing, drumming and stilt walking as they set off from Dudley Square and Egleston Square, travel to Jackson Square where they merge with the Jamaica Plain leg. Together, all three will march in unity to Stony Brook for the Wake Up the Earth Festival.

The Wake Up the Earth Festival brings together Jamaica Plain, Roxbury and other areas of Boston in an annual festival that celebrates diversity, the arrival of spring, music and culture, popular theater, the visual arts, and more.

Marchers assemble at 10:45am; parades depart from Gourdin Park, Dudley Square at 11:15am and Egleston Square YMCA at 11:30am. Festival is from 11am-6pm.

Earth Discovery Week - South Shore Natural Science Center, Norwell
Sun 4/20-Sat 4/26
Free with admission

Kids discover the wonders of our blue planet and learn what you can do to help protect the Earth through hands-on activities and crafts all week long.

EarthFest 2014 - Hatch Shell, Boston
Sat 5/17
FREE

The free festival is a family-friendly celebration for the Earth, showcasing national and local music acts, environmentally-friendly products and local non-profit environmental organizations produced in conjunction with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.

This article originally appeared on Mommy Poppins Boston in April 2014.