The Wonder of Water
Happy Earth Science Week! This year’s theme is water, which makes sense since it covers 70% of our planet’s surface. But did you know that 97% of that is salt water and less than 1% of what’s left is accessible and safe to drink? That got us thinking about how precious readily available, fresh, drinkable water is and how we can share the love for this vital resource.
Make a Difference
Even your youngest budding environmentalist can do a little something to help conserve water, and you can, too!
- Turn off the faucet while you’re brushing your teeth.
- When you’re washing your hands, turn on the faucet to get your hands wet, turn it off, and then turn it back on to rinse.
- Take showers instead of baths. For most people, taking a bath can use up to about 30 gallons of water, but taking a five-minute shower only uses about 10-25 gallons.
- Use bath towels a few times before washing them.
- Feed leftover ice from your water to a thirsty houseplant.
- Use less paper and recycle. Manufacturing paper and other goods causes pollution, which impacts our water. Less manufacturing equals cleaner water.
Together Time
Children can get their hands wet with three fun and easy water experiments using household items and our Science Expeditions Hydrology kit.
Color this water cycle printable together, and see if you can figure out where the arrows should go.
Looking for a fun science project idea involving water? Try this cool hydro-powered water wheel.
You can also find lots of activities by grade level and topic on the Earth Science Week site.
Don’t forget to share your water photos with us by tagging #LittlePassports on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Shows us how you’re experimenting, learning, and conserving!