Each year the children’s water festival in Boulder hosts 800 to 1,000 young minds. Last year’s participants included 34 classes representing 14 schools from the Boulder Valley School District.
Now in its 30th year, the festival is a full day of events for fourth and fifth grades. Boulder Utilities staff members and many volunteers put on a memorable festival, held at CU Boulder’s University Memorial Center.
Boulder’s Betasso and 63rd Street water treatment plants produce about 6 billion gallons of water per year.
The festival is coordinated by the operations group from the City of Boulder Utilities. In advance, students receive a water activity book that augments their school curriculums.
“The fourth and fifth graders are such a fun age group,” says Heather Bearnes-Loza, water conservation program manager. “They are at the age where they love hands-on learning.”
A student who attended the festival created this postcard after learning about embedded water.
The kids arrive on school buses or by public transit. They attend one of two all-class assemblies and rotate through various class sessions. The assemblies include presentations from the National Space Science & Technology Institute and Mad Science, both providing STEM programs. A Classrooms for Climate Action (C4CA) presentation empowers the kids to take action to fight climate change.
The festival includes more than 20 sessions, each with its own games and activities. Topics typically include:
- Colorado Soils. Kids learn about the different soil types found in the state
- Drought History Through the Eyes of Rings. Scientists explain how they can tell when previous droughts occurred based on the growth rings of trees
- Beavers: Water Engineers. Students learn how beavers survive and thrive
- Hydropalooza. Displays and demonstrations show how water shapes the Earth
- Snow Course. A dump truck delivers a pile of snow to demonstrate how much drinking water Boulder gets from snowmelt
At the Snow Course station, students take samples to measure the water equivalencies in snow.
The festival draws on help from nonprofit organizations and on volunteers from schools, the city, the university and Boulder County.
Bearnes-Loza says the feedback from the kids is sheer joy and happy smiles at getting wet and having loads of fun. They especially love the snow dump truck. “We have to work to keep them from throwing snowballs at each other or jumping in the snow,” Bearnes-Loza observes.
“It’s a memorable learning experience for the kids because now they know where our Boulder water comes from.” Teachers comment on how relevant the festival is to their curriculums.
“Some of the children can be stressed by climate change and feel powerless,” Bearnes-Loza says. “At our festival they learn that they can be part of the solution.”