Apr 25, 2003 2 min read

PITTSBURGH – Earth friendly organizations from the Pittsburgh area will be at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium on Saturday for the Earth Day Extravaganza. As part of its ongoing mission of conservation, the Zoo is hosting a day of interactive and fun educational activities, games and crafts to raise environmental awareness on a local and global level. The event is sponsored by the Pennsylvania Resources Council.

The Zoo opens at 10 a.m., and activities begin at 11:30 a.m. Life In Balance will provide live music all day in the PPG Aquarium.

The schedule of events is as follows:

– 11:30 a.m., “Worm Your Way into Earth Day,” a worm composting demonstration in the PPG Aquarium.

– 12:15 p.m., “The Recycling and Magic Show,” presented by the Pennsylvania Resources Council in the PPG Aquarium.

– 1:15 p.m., “Diversity of Water,” learn about the animals in the PPG Aquarium, presented by the aquarists in the PPG Aquarium.

– 1:45 p.m., “Fun Outdoor Places To Go With The Family,” presented by the Western Pennsylvania Field Institute in the PPG Aquarium.

– 2:30 p.m., “Kids Science Research At The Zoo,” presented by the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium Kids Science Department in the PPG Aquarium.

– Noon and 2 p.m., “Over in the Meadow” presented by the Zoo’s Horticulture Staff in the Bayer amphitheater in Kids Kingdom.

– 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., “Recycling Rascals,” Zoo Educators, along with a few little friends, will demonstrate the importance of recycling in the Bayer amphitheater in Kids Kingdom.

Keepers will demonstrate how they use recycled materials in enrichment activities. The cotton-top tamarind and howler monkey will be presented with milk crates and the mandrills will enjoy investigating recycled phone books, donated by Verizon SuperPages. Visitors can get involved in animal enrichment by planting sunflower seeds that keepers will feed to the animals once they are in bloom.

The zoo is home to 32 threatened or endangered animals and works to educate the public about the threats facing our environment. The zoo is also involved in conservation programs around the world, providing research grants to groups and individuals through its Conservation Fund.

Since starting the Conservation Fund in 1996, the zoo has supported 56 projects in 38 countries and two oceans.

These projects include the re-introduction of barn owls to Allegheny County, and radio collaring elephants in Africa to learn more about how they communicate with one another.