JCC Indianapolis The place to be
Earth Day 2018/Israel at 70 is April 22
and Starts in
Welcome to Earth Day 2018/Israel at 70!
The 7th Annual Earth Day Community Celebration co-sponsored by Citizens Energy Group and Indianapolis Power & Light Company returns with more than 65 hands-on, environmentally-friendly activities by almost 50 exhibitors (see list of activities below). This year, help us celebrate Israel at 70. And plan to stay for the day with live music on the WTTS stage and food trucks. Also the JCC Farmers Market will be open and there will be a community yoga class. FREE admission. Voluntary donations welcome.
The Earth Day Community Celebration is from noon-4 pm.
Parking Free parking is available at
Beth El-Zedeck:
600 W. 70th St, Indianapolis, IN 46260
Families are welcome to come early for the Yom HaAtzmaut Family Learning Event is from 10 am-noon.
This Year’s Highlights
Celebration of Israel at 70
The Jewish Federation of Greater Indianapolis is celebrating Yom HaAtzmaut, or Israel Independence Day, beginning with family activities from 10 am—noon. Kids will create portraits of famous Israelis using everyday objects, make a map of Israel out of cardboard and other recycled materials, use upcycled fabric to put together an Israeli flag, and more! During Earth Day, check out the WTTS Stage for Holy Band (from the Holy Land) and Israeli Zumba. For a preview, check out this video:
Kibbutz Lotan and Center for Creative Ecology.
Founded in 1983, Kibbutz Lotan is located in the Negev desert in southern Israel and is an “eco-Jewish community educating its children to love and protect the environment.” The Center for Creative Ecology, established in 1997 at the Kibbutz has become a world class training, research and demonstration center for technologies related to having a healthier and more sustainable community. The focus is on “organic food production, ecological building methods, appropriate technologies, and permaculture design.” Alex Cicelsky, founder of Kibbutz Lotan and the Center for Creative Ecology was born in New York and consults and lectures around the world on permaculture and community planning, sustainable design technologies, passive solar design of energy efficient buildings and environmental ethics. At Earth Day Community Celebration, Alex will lead several groups in the construction of geodesic domes.
This Year’s Theme: May the Forest Be With You!
Help Build a Geodesic Dome!
Help our special guest, Alex Cicelsky, from Kibbutz Lotan to build a geodesic dome! A geodesic dome is a hemispherical thin-shell structure based on a geodesic polyhedron. The triangular elements of the dome are structurally rigid and distribute weight evenly throughout the structure, making geodesic domes able to withstand very heavy loads for their size. Geodesic domes are used for a variety of purposes, and make great green houses!
Tour Two, Brand New Tiny Houses!
This year we will have two, brand new tiny houses on site to tour! Go big for the earth by going tiny!
Enter To Win A Spark Drone!
Enter our Earth Day raffle for a chance to win this top of the line, Spark drone. It features a mechanical stabilization gimbal for ultra smooth, detailed shots. It also includes “return to home” technology which allows the drone to come back to you automatically, and flight protection that will alert you of no fly security zones. At a $600 value, this is a raffle you will want to be a part of.
| NEW | EXHIBITOR | ACTIVITY | LOCATION |
|---|---|---|---|
| * | Alexander Muss High School in Israel | Israel Map Game | 60 |
| Alpha Chi Sigma Professional Chemistry Fraternity | Photosynthesis - the original solar cell | 24 | |
| * | Anchor Health Chiropractic | Free health assessments using NASA technology | 75 |
| * | Bill Bailey | Making music with everyday things | 15 |
| Big Brothers Big Sisters | Make wildflower seed balls - save the bees | 12 | |
| * | Big Green (formerly Community Kitchens) | Make veggie seed balls | 28 |
| Boy Scouts Crossroads of America Council | Join the Boy Scouts | 72 | |
| Make fire by friction | 73 | ||
| Run on a rope bridge | 74 | ||
| * | Chabad of Indiana | Israel map art using seeds | 59 |
| Camp JCC/B wing | Sand Art | 3 | |
| Tie dye shirts and more | 4 | ||
| Citizens Climate Lobby | Write your congressman about climate change | 37 | |
| Citizens Energy Group | Virtual reality tour of DigIndy Tunnel System | 43 | |
| Commuter Connect | Play the rush hour traffic game | 49 | |
| * | Congregation Beth Shalom | Write notes on seed paper and plant in a recycled container | 41 |
| * | Congregation Beth Shalom/Kevin Mercer | Live bee hive | 13 |
| * | Congregation Beth-El Zedeck | Make and play instruments fashioned from scrap wood | 67 |
| * | Congregation Etz Chaim | Sephardic Cultural Experience-Bedouin Tent | 38 |
| * | Congregation Shaarey Tefilla | See how the Second Temple in Jerusalem was built | 50 |
| Cummins | Pedal power and win a prize | 64 | |
| * | Doterra Essential Oils | Make natural hand sanitizer | 70 |
| * | eScrap Inc.** | Resale, reuse, rethink, and recycle electronic devices | 17 |
| * | Experience the Tiny Perspective | Walk through a tiny house | 2 |
| Girl Scouts of Central Indiana STEM program | It's your planet - Love it! | 56 | |
| * | Girl Scout Troop 2141 (meets at JCC) | Make great things from recycled old t-shirts | 55 |
| Global Gifts | TBA | 57 | |
| * | Green Alternatives, Inc. | Solar powered popcorn | 27 |
| Habitat for Humanity of G.I. | How to re purpose and recycle materials | 51 | |
| * | Hasten Hebrew Academy Indianapolis - HHAI | See how plants purify water | 25 |
| Holliday park Nature Center | Learn to identify trees. Make a necklace from a tree cookie! | 62 | |
| * | Hoosier Environmental Council (HEC) | A quiz to test your knowledge of environmental issues | 16 |
| * | IHC's Adamah Team | Plant a seed and watch it grow! | 52 |
| * | Indiana Dept. of Environmental Management | Learn about the garbage pie chart | 65 |
| * | Indiana Department of Natural Resources | Learn about trees from the Naturalist at Fort Harrison State Park | 14 |
| * | Indiana Forest Alliance | Nature trivia spinning wheel | 71 |
| Indiana Jewish Discovery Center | Build the Western Wall (Kotel) | 66 | |
| * | Indiana Parks Alliance | Make a custom wearable button with a nature theme | 36 |
| * | Indianapolis BBYO Youth Organization | Design, make and fly Israeli kites | 5 |
| Indianapolis Power & Light Company | Providing seed papers for note writing activity | 42 | |
| Ivy Tech Community College | Be a Jedi in the woods | 20 | |
| Detrivores - view the microscopic life in a dead tree | 23 | ||
| Creative writing competition - write a short story or poem about the forest | 53 | ||
| Create a colorful leaf collage | 54 | ||
| Take a walk with a guide in the woods and learn what you've been missing | 21 | ||
| * | JCC Community Yoga School | Adult and Kids Yoga (adult class from 11am to noon & kid's class from noon to 2 pm) | |
| JCC 10-vendor Farmers Market | See list | ||
| * | Jefferson Electric Solar | Solar powered popcorn | 19 |
| * | Jewish Community Relations Council | Create art using solar paper | 68 |
| * | Jewish National Fund (JNF) | Take a tree to plant and spin the prize wheel | 61 |
| Keep Indianapolis Beautiful | Play Native Plant Tic Tac Toe | 58 | |
| * | Keren L Israel Investment Club | Sage advice from Great Sages | 35 |
| * | Kibbutz Lotan | Build a geodesic dome | 22 |
| * | Land Goods LLC | Make bird nesting balls with alpaca fleece | |
| * | LeafFilter | Demonstration of filter system for gutters | 26 |
| Marian University EcoLab | Hands-on tree, leaf and seed activities | 63 | |
| * | Old National Bank | Answer a question from Mother Earth and win some green ($2 bill)! | 47 |
| Purdue Extension Marion City | Make a tree using recycled materials | 29 | |
| spinning wheel game to identify trees | 30 | ||
| Play a game to learn why pollinators need your help | 31 | ||
| make a mini-greenhouse | 32 | ||
| make a compost pile for your home | 33 | ||
| Make an insect from twigs, leaves and beads | 34 | ||
| Purdue Solar Racing Team | Award-winning-solar-powered race vehicle | 48 | |
| Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter | Evaluate how to plant trees around a house maximize benefits | 44 | |
| How an infrared thermometer measures temperature | 46 | ||
| How tree placement can affect your home's interior climate | 45 | ||
| State Farm Insurance | Make a terrarium | 11 | |
| * | Sycamore School | Make and decorate nature treasure boxes | 39 |
| Write notes on seed paper and plant in a recycled container | 40 | ||
| * | Try It Tiny | Tour a tiny house and learn about minimalist lifestyle | 1 |
| * | Union of Concerned Scientists | Stump a Scientist! Write to your congressperson | 69 |
| * | White Pine Wilderness Academy | Jedi training (balance and concentration activity) | 9 |
| Walk in the woods and identify edible plants (herbs) | 10 | ||
| Learn to carve cedar wood | 6 | ||
| Learn to start a fire with flint | 8 | ||
| Foam arrow war | 7 | ||
| Wings for West Africa and RecycleForce** | Recycling of electronic appliances - time of collection noon-3 pm | ||
| WTTS FM | Play TTS trivia game | 18 | |
| * | Wild Spirit Salon/Monat Global | Vendor | 76 |
**$10 charge for devices with cathode ray tube, e.g, old style TVs and computer monitors, $20 for any device with refrigeration. No Styrofoam accepted.