Get your crazy, cool green on at the 9th annual Cool Kids! ECOFEST!

EVERY one of us is a steward of this planet we share!

A small list of what there is to do at ECOFEST!

Green is a verb! Sustainability–a lifestyle! Learning is FUN!
But you don’t have to invest thousands in solar panels or grow your own organic food from heirloom seeds to “go green”! 

Cool Kids! ECOFEST–is on a mission to prove: we’re ALL green! And practicing sustainability can be a complete blast!

With over 60 exhibitors converging on the campus of Genesee Community College–both inside and out–we’re excited to bring the BEST of WNY’s green scene to families everywhere–for FREE!

Explore erosion (and get a little wet!) with Rochester Museum and Science Center; dig fossils at Penn Dixie Paleontological’s booth; shop for recycled international art gifts at One World Projects or dive into a nonstop kids arts fest with GCC’s Education Dept! But dont’ stop there—check out the live owls, exotic wildlife stage shows, Green Grab doorprize giveaways, tree seedlings to the first 250 participants, make origami helicopters, egg carton airplanes, enjoy Abbotts, yogurt samplings, the Big Bag Bash, and so much more! All FREE! 

Crafting Fun at 2013 Ecofest!

Join us this weekend!

April 12, 2014

10 AM – 2 PM

Genesee Community College, Batavia NY 14020

Sponsored by: Student Activities

Free! Open to all ages!

But Cool Kids! can even make recycling a way-too-fun-win-win for all! Bring us your old bikes and bike parts, “nonfabric” furniture for re-sale (to benefit Habitat for Humanity), old sneakers, paperbacks, eyeglasses, worn American flags and inkjet cartridges to recycle! For EVERY item you recycle with us-we give you a raffle ticket! And another chance to win a brand new mountain bike or other prize!!! How cool is THAT?!
So clean house! Bring your stuff! Bring your Cool Kids! Bring your group!
Recycle! Re-learn! Have fun! Four HOURS of nonstop fun!!

And remember: EVERYBODY wins–when everybody’s part of the show! When all Cool Kids! steward the planet!!

For more info: http://www.generationcool.biz or find us on Facebook/Cool Kids!

Steve Appleton is Director/founder of Cool Kids! since 1999. The family cultural event series’s mission is: “Everyone’s part of the show!” Cool Kids! is a quantuum leap from typical family shows—where we all watch a juggling show–clap–and leave. We pass out 600 juggling balls and have a juggling party! Everyone drums! Everyone tries science at Science Circus! Entire audiences do Adventure Yoga, Bollywood dance or make balloon animals!!  But don’t stop there! Cool Kids! also tackles big planetary issues like cultural tolerance, world hunger, environmentalism and world peace!  With kid-centric projects like Cool Kids! Ecofest! CAN-imals on Parade canned goods sculpture contests and Jump on the Cool Kids! Peace (origami crane) Chain–we actively become the solution! “We don’t like talking diversity,” says Appleton, “We do it. When everyone is included—that’s not only cool! That’s what peace feels like! What peace is!” Cool Kids! has series of free, family events in Brockport and Batavia. Since it started, it has hosted series that include over 1000 events in Corning, Rochester, and Albion NY.

 

STEM Rich 2011 EcoFest at GCC Coming Soon

Lily Walker, 4, of Bergen with a sapling from the 2010 EcoFest.

Teachers, students, and parents – mark your calendars now for one of the area’s COOLEST STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) events of the year!

The 6th Annual CoolKids! EcoFest will be held Saturday, April 9th from 10 am to 2 pm in the student forum and cafeteria  of Genesee Community College (One College Road, Batavia, NY)

Seem like a bit of a hike from Rochester? It is so worth it!

I attended the event last year and was blown away by the number of STEM related hands-on displays, activities, and educational presentations. 

This year’s event will feature approximately  forty-five booths as well as a free pizza party for all at 12:30 pm and an exotic wildlife show at 1 p.m. on the Cool Kids Stage.

The most eye-opening part of the festival for me last year was its E-Scrap Drive.  Approximately 30,000 pounds of recyclables were collected last year! Trucks, bins, and barrels were teeming with old computers and sneakers. The drive will be part of this year’s festival as well. 

You are encouraged to bring the following items to the festival to be recycled:

– OLD ELECTRONICS (drive up service available – TVs cost $5 to recycle – no businesses or agencies can recycle)

The following electronics are free to recycle:

~ Computers, laptops and printers
~ Fax machines
~ Cash registers
~ Wiring
~ Phones – cell and rotary
~ Stereos
~ Microwaves
~ Rechargeable batteries
~ Calculators
~ Typewriters
~ IPODS & PDAs
~ Peripheral computer equipment— mouses, keyboards, cables, modems, external drives, etc.

– OLD SNEAKERS  (no metal parts!) for Nike-Reuse-A-Shoe Drive!

– Paperback BOOKS (no hardcovers–or Romance novels) for Operation Paperback!

For each recyclable you bring from the list above, you will earn a raffle ticket to win a mountain bike.

The massive E-Scrap Drive at the 2010 EcoFest.

You can also earn raffle tickets by getting a FREE tire pressure check with Dunn Tire of Batavia (and a free tire gauge) and by getting your car checked for a mercury light switch by AAA. 

These events will be held in the parking lot along with a huge display of alternative energy cars (hydrogen, ethanol, electric and vegetable oil)

Read more about last year’s Eco Fest in my STEM Blog Article from April 2010.

by Caurie Putnam, Coordinator, STEM Mentor Program