LOS ANGELES, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Kidspace Children's Museum in Los Angeles, in the western U.S. state of California, kicked off a full weekend of green activities and community-building special events on Friday in celebration of Earth Day.

       The activities include earth painting, making rope toys for shelter dogs out of recycled T-shirts, and observing and learning about native species of wildlife that are beneficial to the ecosystems including bees, bats, and snakes.

       Children can participate in a bug spotting program, developed by the University of Kansas, to learn how to find, count, and record wildlife at home.

       They can also adopt a live caterpillar through a nature and science project that allows people to follow the growth of a tiny caterpillar at home as they miraculously transform into a Painted Lady butterfly that can be released into nature.

       Earth Day is a wonderful time to teach young scientists that people live in ecosystems surrounded by urban wildlife, including important pollinators such as birds, bees, bats, and butterflies, said the organizer.

       The museum is offering special activities, exhibits, and events to spark children's innate curiosity about wild spaces and wild creatures, and help them develop habits of observation, empathy, and advocacy that support conservation, said the organizer.

       Many other parks and museums in Los Angeles held similar events to celebrate Earth Day on Friday.