10/01/2007
 

Delaware Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Control

Delaware Students “Make a Splash” with Project WET; Water Resources and Conservation Topics of Nationwide Festival

More than 460 Delaware middle school students and their teachers joined the nationwide “Make a Splash” festival in a day filled with entertaining water activities designed to educate students on the importance of water. Delaware’s “Make a Splash” festival was held Sept. 28 at the Delaware National Estuarine Research Reserve and John Dickinson Plantation near Dover, while other similar water festivals were held in communities throughout the country.

According to Jennifer Holmes, project coordinator and educator with DNREC’s Division of Soil and Water Conservation, the festival was the ideal venue to engage young people in activities that encourage them to appreciate Delaware’s water resources. “Water provides the earth with the capacity for supporting life,” said Holmes. “The festival was designed to encourage young people to be stewards of our water resources and protect them for future generations.”

Unlike traditional “look and leave” field trips, the “Make a Splash” festival included interactive activities at learning stations on various water-related topics. Students explored a diversity of water-related topics: watersheds, horseshoe crabs, mosquito control, salinity, estuaries, land use, stormwater runoff, pollution and historical water use.

The “Make a Splash” festival was made possible by Project WET (Water Education for Teachers), an international water science and education program dedicated to teaching children. Established in 1984, Project WET provides a complete curriculum of water education teaching materials, books and training opportunities, as well as a network of coordinators in every state of the continental U.S. and in numerous countries around the world.

Sponsors for Delaware’s “Make a Splash” festival included Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control’s Division of Soil and Water Conservation; Delaware Health and Social Services’ Office of Drinking Water; Project WET USA; Nestle Waters North America, John Dickinson Plantation; Delaware Agricultural Museum and Village; Delaware Nature Society; and Kent Conservation District.

For more information on Project WET, visit www.projectwetusa.org

To explore the many educational opportunities and workshops offered at DNREC’s Delaware National Estuarine Research Reserve, contact Jennifer Holmes at 302-739-3436 or visit www.dnrec.delaware.gov and click on “Division of Soil and Water Conservation.
 

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