Water Festival

What a fantastic day!!  I had a wonderful time going with my students on a field trip to Pell City for the St. Clair County Annual Water Festival.  All fourth grade students from the county are invited to participate in this event.  My students got to learn all sorts of neat facts about the water cycle and keeping our water clean.  Area high school students led three stations where students got to participate in hands-on activities to learn about water conservation and protection.

Our first station taught us all about how easy it is for our water to become dirty and how difficult it is to clean it so that we can drink it.  The students learned about the filtration process and all had the chance to see and create an up-close illustration of this process.  This was a favorite among many of the students.  Here are a few pictures of them hard at work.

Our next station brought us to the "edible aquifer."  Here the students learned about the different layers (impermeable, permeable, water, bedrock, soil, pollution, and rain) by using ice cream, gummy bears, sprite, and sprinkles.  Students were able to visualize each layer and then used a straw to suck up the "water."  It was here that the students realized how easy it is for so much junk to end up in the water.  Here they are enjoying their aquifers.

Our last station brought us to the place where students learned about each step of the water cycle.  They made water cycle bracelets and sang the Water Cycle Song.  They even payed Simon Says to help them remember the steps of the water cycle.  They had a blast!!

The day ended with a magic show from the Fishin' Magicians reinforcing all that was learned.  The students had a wonderful time, and so did the teachers.  It was a fabulous community event that is a favorite for the 4th grade team each year.  I was blessed to be a part of it today.