Looking for a way to celebrate and educate your children for Earth Day? Check out these excellent, eco-savvy events happening this week in the Washington area.

Live elsewhere in the nation? Discovery’s Planet Green has listings for more Earth Day events nationwide.

SATURDAY

The ReCycle Lady & EnzoDog Greenly Fly Into Silver Spring for a Saturday Kaleidoscope Performance
Saturday April 18 2pm, Woodside Methodist Church, 8900 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring
Celebrating Earth Day, superheroes EnzoDog and the ReCycle Lady team up to save Mother Earth. Lisa Polinari, the Unicycle Lady, teaches about saving the environment atop a home-made “recycled parts” unicycle, juggles everyday objects given a second life, and encourages youngsters to reduce, re-use, and recycle as a necessary and fun part of our everyday lives. This Kaleidoscope performance features her real life dog Enzo and eye-popping tricks and feats of balance aboard a single earth wheel.

Tickets are $7 in advance, $10 at the Door or $6 for Groups of 10+ (advance sales only.) To purchase tickets visit Class Act Arts or call 301.588.4475. This subsidized family performance is made possible by Class Acts Arts, The Silver Spring Regional Center, Whole Foods Market, Home Properties, Montgomery College, and with support from the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County and the Maryland State Arts Council.

Wheaton Trail Clean-up for Earth Day
Saturday April 18 9am-12pm, meet at the May Street Train Entrance, at the intersection of May and Munsey
Families can help clean up the woods that border the Matthew Henson Trail, between Georgia and Connecticut Avenues in Wheaton – service hours are avaible, as well as the great feeling that you helped make your own community a cleaner place. Meet at the May Street Train Entrance, at the intersection of May and Munsey. The clean-up is sponsored by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. Call Lynn Vismara, the group volunteer coordinator, at 301-495-2474 for more information.

Earth Day Cleanup at the National Zoo
Saturday April 18, 8am-12pm. 3001 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008. You can get to the Zoo by taking public transportation and driving. Parking at the Zoo costs $10 for the first hour, $15 for two to three hours, and $20 for more than three hours, but is free for FONZ members. Every dollar you spend at the Zoo—for parking, food, and gifts—supports the Smithsonian National Zoo’s education, research, and conservation efforts.
Children will have the opportunity to participate in fun and educational activities as zoo staff and visitors will work together to keep our ecosystem healthy. There’ll be a big by litter pick up and sorting of recyclables, and members of the Zoo’s Green Team will be on hand to talk to visitors about sustainability initiatives. Organizations such as the D.C. Department of the Environment, Friends of Rock Creek’s Environment, Washington Area Bicyclist Association, and Casey Trees will share information about what ordinary people can do to combat pollution and climate change.

Registration, talks, and activities will be in the Picnic Pavilion, next to the Mane Restaurant.
Volunteers that would like to clean up can sign in by 8 a.m, no advance RSVP necessary. Volunteers are encouraged to bring a reusable water bottle (fresh drinking water will be provided), sunblock and comfortable shoes. Children under age 13 who want to participate in the cleanup must be at least kindergarten age and accompanied by an adult.

Families can also bring any of the following to the Picnic Pavilion on Saturday for recycling:

* Cell phones and accessories
* Batteries, including those for cordless power tools, cellular and cordless phones, laptop computers, camcorders, digital cameras, and remote control toys
* Printer cartridges
* Corks (made from cork, not plastic)
* Compact fluorescent bulbs
* Brita filters (dried)

Families can also bring everything on this list besides corks and bulbs to the Zoo’s Visitor Center throughout the year!

Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission Water Festival
Saturday April 18 12-4pm, Duckett Dam at Brooklyn Bridge Road, Laurel, MD
Celebrate green living and the Patuxent Reservoirs Watershed as the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission rolls out its second H2O Fest. At this free event, families will learn how to help preserve and protect our water sources with children’s activities and crafts, “green” building information, composting/rain barrel/pest control demonstrations, outside tours of the T. H. Duckett Dam, demos of SmartCars and other cool technologies and fun raffles of rain barrels and native trees.

SATURDAY & SUNDAY

National Gallery of Art Family Programs Has Eco-Films for Kids
Saturday, April 18, 10:30am and Sunday April 19 at 11:30 am. Recommended for ages 6 and up. The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden are located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC.
Celebrate Earth Day with this series of international short films about nature. Visually stunning and thought-provoking, each film includes a message about caring for the environment. All film programs are shown in the East Building Auditorium, and admission is free. No registration is required. Seating is offered on a first-come, first-seated basis. Groups are welcome.

Friends of Sligo Creek’s Annual Spring Sweep the Creek
Saturday April 18 from 9-11am and Sunday April 19 from 1-3pm RAIN OR SHINE
Map of Meeting Sites
Bring family, friends, and neighbors to help clean up Sligo Creek for Earth Day! Line up that scout troop, church group, or office group. Friends of Sligo Creek supplies the bags, gloves and drinking water, and they expect to have some fun freebies from the National Public Lands Day sponsors. Dress to work in brush and water. Wear long-sleeved shirt, pants, and waterproof boots if possible for best protection. We’d love to see more volunteers in waders. Students can receive service credit. Individuals and families, please just pick a section and show up. Groups, please e-mail the Sweep Coordinator to determine which section needs a hand.

SUNDAY

Huge Earth Day Celebration on the National Mall With Los Lobos, The Flaming Lips, EPA Big Wigs and More!
Sunday April 19 12-6pm, National Mall, Washington DC
The nation’s capital is the Earth Day 2009 hub and as in years past, hundreds of thousands of people will take Metrobus, Metrorail, walk, and bike to the heart of the nation’s capital to show their support for Mother Earth. The event will feature performances and speakers like new EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, Chevy Chase and others. The event includes an Eco-Roadshow with exhibits and freebies and fun activities from orgs like NASA, Discovery’s Planet Green and more (full list here.) Exhibitors will be located in the main event area, between 4th and 7th streets on the National Mall, and also on the corner of Maryland and Independence avenues, right by the Museum of the American Indian.

EARTH DAY – WEDNESDAY

Visit Rock Creek Park
FORCE – The Friends of Rock Creek’s Environment – urge local families to celebrate Earth Day with a walk, hike, bicycle ride, stroll, or picnic along Rock Creek and enjoy its beautiful scenery.

Environmental Safety Fair at the Navy Museum
Wednesday April 22 10am-2pm, Naval Historical Center and Navy Museum, 805 Kidder Breese SE at the Washignton Navy Yard, Washington DC Directions and Parking
Help celebrate Earth Day with the Environmental Safety Fair at the Washington Navy Yard. Stop by the Navy Museum to hear Civil War storytelling and songs from Lincoln’s Navy. Kids are also invited to make their own Victory Gardens with Navy Museum education staff. Advance registration is required. Call 202.433.6897. The event is free and targeted at kids age 5-12.

Alexandria, Virginia’s Earth Day Celebration
Wednesday April 22, 10am-2pm
At the City of Alexandria’s annual Earth Day Festival there’ll be puppet shows courtesy of Blue Sky Puppets, live music, an environmental nature walk and tons more family fun.

NEXT SATURDAY APRIL 25

Earth Day Celebration at the Little Falls Library
Saturday April 25 1-4pm, 5501 Massachusetts Avenue, Bethesda, MD