The First Day of Fall is right around the corner (it's this Saturday 9/22)! It's the season of beautiful fall foliage, crisp air and pumpkin spice everything! But do you actually know what occurs on this day? Historically, it's called the Fall Equinox or Autumn Equinox and it takes place each year between September 21st and September 24th. It marks the first day of Fall in the Northern Hemisphere and it actually signals Spring in the Southern Hemisphere.

Equinox comes from the Latin words "aequi" which means equal and "nox" which is night. So, on the day of Equinox, day and night are of equal length across the planet. The Earth is tilted at a fixed angle as it orbits the sun. Half of the year, the North Pole is tilted towards the sun, bringing longer days to the Northern Hemisphere. Oppositely, the South Pole is titled slightly away from the sun, which brings fewer hours of sunlight to the Southern Hemisphere.

As our planet Earth continues to move around the sun at this fixed angle, the North Pole begins to tilt slightly away from the sun. This Equinox marks the point of the year where this transition occurs. On the day of Equinox, the equator is closest to the sun, rather than the North or South Poles.

Now that you know a little bit of history behind the Equinox, it's a good time to plan your Fall activities for your family! We've compiled some of the best suggestions in the graphic below. You can easily print this out (right click on the graphic and click "Print") and then check off each of the items you and your family or friends do!