Make a Splash Water Festival Held for Nevada Students from
Eagle Valley Middle School

Friday, Sept. 22, 2006, 320 students from Eagle Valley Middle School in Carson City participated in Make a Splash with Project WET (Water Education for Teachers) as part of the largest nationwide day of water education in the world. The Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) and River Wranglers sponsor the annual Nevada event with funding from Nestle Waters of North America and United States (US) Environmental Protection Agency. The Nevada event was coordinated by Mary Kay Riedl (Nevada Project WET Coordinator) and Linda Conlin (River Wranglers).

More than 125 water festivals were held this year across the US to celebrate Make a Splash with Project WET, a national day of fun, interactive education. At the Make a Splash festivals, students actively engage in hands-on water activities and investigations in outdoor classrooms, exploring a variety of water-related topics relevant to natural systems and human societies.

Project WET strives to provide a solid educational framework for teachers and students. While grounded in water science principles, Make a Splash water festivals promote multidisciplinary approaches to learning by incorporating social studies, geography, language arts, art and journaling.

One of the core beliefs of Project WET is that wise water management is crucial for providing tomorrow's children with social and economic stability in a healthy environment. We also believe that awareness of and respect for water resources can encourage a personal, lifelong commitment of responsibility and positive community participation.

We would like to recognize the outstanding efforts of numerous facilitators who helped to make Nevada's 2006 Make a Splash Water Festival celebration a success. We greatly appreciate your willingness to share your passion, your time, and expertise as volunteer facilitators. The water festival is an opportunity to teach young students about the vital role of water in our daily lives and to build networks with schools and other collaborating agencies. We would also like to thank the parent volunteers who prepared lunch for every one. Thank you so much! Your efforts and dedication make the difference.

A complete list of Activity Stations, Facilitators and Agency Sponsors is provided below.

To learn more about Make a Splash with Project WET visit www.projectwetusa.org

Make A Splash with Project WET water festival - Eagle Valley Middle School

Sum of the Parts - In this activity, students inherit one million dollars and riverfront property to develop as they wish. The students draw and then discuss their developments, how they plan to use the available resources (including the river itself), and identify actions (if any) that they think may pollute the waterway. Students learn how the land uses of each property owner contribute to overall water quality within the watershed. Students also learn about what communities can do to address nonpoint source pollution and improve water quality.

Facilitators: Jason Kuchnicki, Danielle Henderson (Nevada Environmental Protection); Duane Petite, Laura Crane (The Nature Conservancy)

Aquifer in a Cup-Students learn about basic ground water principles as they create their own geologic "earth window." Hydrologic terms such as porosity, permeability, water table, infiltration and aquifer are discussed as students examine how ground water moves through underground rock formations and how different materials influence water movement in natural systems.

Facilitators: Sue Donaldson (UNR - Cooperative Extension); Adam Sullivan (Wood Rogers Engineering); Joe Beard, Danny Summers (Farr West Engineering); Genie Azad (Carson Water Subconservancy); Paul Pugsley (Carson Valley Conservation District)

Aquatic Macroinvertebrates- Students learn how macroinvertebates are used as biological indicators to assess water quality and ecological health of rivers. In this activity the participants "build-a-bug" by dressing a volunteer with props representing various adaptations of an aquatic insect that allow the insect to live in an aquatic environment. Students also identify macroinvertebrates that are sensitive to pollutants and those that are pollution tolerant, indicators of good and poor water quality in the river.

Facilitators: Laura Leuders (Alpine Watershed Group); Margie Evans (Western NV Resource Conservation & Development); Paul Kolp (Dayton Valley Conservation District); Richard Vineyard (Nevada Department of Education)

Stream Monitoring- Basic field measurements are taken almost every time water is sampled within the US. These often simple measurements of temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, and turbidity can sometimes reveal important information about the water and the surrounding environment. During this activity, students measure some basic field parameters and learn how scientists collect and test water quality samples.

Facilitators: Tim Rowe, Eva Bauer, Jena Green (U.S. Geological Survey); Randy Pahl, Paul Comba (Nevada Environmental Protection); Ed Skudlarek (Nevada Natural Heritage)

Lunch crew - The day of the water festival, temperatures turned out to be in the low 70's with a cool autumn breeze, but our lunch crew did a fabulous job keeping up with the 350 appetites waiting for hotdogs and chips.

Native Americans - It is important to understand our Native cultures. Local Elders shared stories of hunting and fishing and discussed their tribe's use of natural resources - water, plants, and animals - and how tribes have adjusted to a changing environment as development occurred.

Facilitators: Andy Allen (Walker River Paiute Tribe); Marlin Thompson (Yerington Paiute Tribe); Ralph Burns (Pyramid Paiute Tribe); Yeta (Washoe Tribe of Nevada); Dan Kaffer (Western Nevada Resource Conservation & Development)

Nevada History - This theatrical presentation provided an exciting and detailed account of the hardships suffered by those who made the challenging trip across Nevada Emigrant Trail between the 1840s and the 1860s. Volunteers who portray early residents of Nevada's mining camps entertain students with a multitude of tales describing the fascinating lives of men and women who struggled to survive through the cycles of "boom & bust" mining.

Facilitator: Fred Horlacher (Nevada Humanities Society)

The Long Haul - Water is the most undervalued resource in modern society; we scarcely give it a thought. However, sources of available fresh water are constantly under siege from naturally-occurring and human events that can limit our safe drinking water. This activity introduces students to the idea of water conservation by engaging in a game of hauling water, which was once a common household routine.

Facilitators: Jon Taylor, Pam Willard, Kathleen Fox (Nevada Environmental Protection); Matt Huber (Nevada State Parks-Ft. Churchill)

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