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Water Festivals
The key words are water festivals, education, Colorado and children.
In 1991, the idea of children's water festivals - a day of activities, games and exhibits about water - found its way to Colorado.
The Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District participated in the first festival in the state, organized by Central Colorado Water Conservancy District's Tom Cech.
Northern Water believes festivals are an ideal way to introduce children to water and conservation. The District now coordinates and co-sponsors five annual festivals, including the Grand County Water Festival initiated in September 1998. NCWCD staff members help to organize or present classes and exhibits at several other festivals in Colorado.
Safe, fun and hands-on learning are a must at water festivals. Classroom presentations generally are scheduled for 20 minutes focusing on two or three major points. Students attend three to five classes, depending on the festival's size and available time.
Besides presentations, festivals often include an exhibition hall, a Water Wizard's Trivia Bowl, poster and essay contests, and teacher resource rooms.
In the exhibition hall students may find anything from a river maze, to a wall of water to water testing.
The trivia bowl, the loudest aspect of the festival, is also one of the most popular. Four-person teams are pre-selected, and compete with teams from other schools. Local personalities serve as hosts for the game, which has categories in history, geography, water supply, conservation and water rights.
Poster and essay contests emphasize the creative aspects of learning about water. The best entries from each school are displayed at the festival.
For more information about planning or participating in a children's water festival, contact Brian Werner by email, bwerner@ncwcd.org, or phone (970)532-7700.
For water festival dates, be sure to check our Calendar. |
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