FLAGSTAFF —On September 14, 2017, from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., over 900 fourth graders from Flagstaff will gather at the Flagstaff Water Festival at Foxglenn Park located at 4200 E. Butler Avenue, to learn about Arizona’s water resources and water in the earth system.
The interactive community water festival is part of a curriculum unit focused on water stewardship and STEM education and is sponsored by the City of Flagstaff and SCA Americas. The Water Festival unit includes teacher professional development, a Water STEM unit implemented by teachers and the community-supported Water Festival Education Event.
Fourth graders will engage in learning about the groundwater system, the water cycle, watershed management, and water conservation technology through exploration and inquiry. Volunteers from NAU, the City of Flagstaff, SCA Americas, Arizona Project WET’s Water Educators and other community members learn to facilitate lessons and engage students.
Created by Arizona Project WET, the Arizona Water Festival program has had over 109,000 students statewide participate in Arizona Water Festivals since the year 2000. This long-lasting program is grant-funded and relies on the support of local partners such as the City of Flagstaff and SCA Americas to support effective K-12 water science education.
“The Arizona Water Festival program combines effective teacher professional development, direct student outreach that extends classroom learning, and community engagement,” says Director Kerry Schwartz. “Bringing these components together is the hard work that APW does to achieve STEM literacy and water stewardship education in Arizona’s communities.”
Arizona Project WET is a program of the Water Resources Research Center and Arizona Cooperative Extension both part of the University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. It is recognized by the Project WET Foundation for excellent state-specific water education resources including the Arizona Conserve Water Educators’ Guide, School Water Audit Program, and Water Scene Investigations.
For more information on the Arizona Water Festival program, please visit https://arizonawet.arizona.edu/programs/arizona_water_festival or contact Sara Krznarich at sarakrznarich@email.arizona.edu.