“Protect Our Planet” is ???? ??????? ???????? ??? ????? ???the theme of JANM Free Family Day on Saturday, April 9, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Japanese American National Museum, 100 N. Central Ave. in Little Tokyo.
All-day activities to encourage everyone to “think green” include:
? Making a “green pledge” stating what you can do to help the environment, and taking home an instant photo of you and your pledge to help you remember it throughout the year.
? Creating your own biodegradable planter, then planting a seed and taking it home to watch it grow.
? Learning to fold paper cranes with recycled paper at Ruthie’s Origami Corner.
? Decorating your own reusable shopping bag. For children only; first come, first served.
Scheduled activities:
11 a.m.–3:30 p.m. — reDiscover Center, a nonprofit organization that promotes creative conservation through material reuse, presents an art activity for all ages. Using upcycled materials from households and industry, participants will craft tabletop models of the trees that dot our urban landscape. Each child or group will make a tree to add to a miniature forest, and then take home their creations at the end of the day.
11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. — Make and decorate a bird feeder out of recycled milk cartons. Seeds will be provided. Limited to 20 children; must be accompanied by an adult. Sign up at the Survey Table.
1 p.m. — My Papel Picado, a family organization dedicated to preserving the Mexican folk art of papel picado(cut paper), presents a fun and educational activity for children. Using recycled materials and brightly colored tissue paper, create your own decorative papel picado. Limited to 20 children; must be accompanied by an adult. Sign up at the Survey Table.
3:30 p.m. — Children’s entertainment specialist Claire Mills will present her unique, interactive mix of music and storytelling, with a thematic focus on the sun and its power.
Also on Saturday, in conjunction with the exhibition “Two Views: Photographs by Ansel Adams and Leonard Frank,” a lecture will be given at 2 p.m. at the Tateuchi Democracy Forum. Bill Jeffries and Grace Eiko Thomson, co-curators of “Two Views,” will discuss their exhibition. This program is free, but RSVPs are recommended.
For more information, call (213) 625-0414 or visit www.janm.org.