Water festival attracts 3,700 kids
May 29, 2012 by Martin
Oxford County’s Children’s Water Festival took off with a splash recently. More than 3,700 kids from Grades 2 – 5 were in attendance at the fourth annual conservation gala, which provided a hands-on learning experience to help students learn about the importance and role of water in the town, neighborhood, and their own backyard. Forty interactive stations were set up to teach kids how to conserve and protect water. The activities focused on one of five water conservation themes: water attitude, water technology, water science, water protection and water conservation.
Held at the Pittock Conservation Area in Woodstock, the activities concentrated on water conservation and fun. At one station, children examined the molecular makeup of water through microscopes. At another station, children were stimulated to think of water from an eagle’s point of view and then acted out the life cycle of an eagle to understand the creature’s water needs. Creative ways of learning were part and parcel of the program.
Getting students to think about the extent to which water affects their daily lives was one of the underlying objectives of the Children’s Water Festival. Conservation authorities and groups often use printing companies for flyer printing as a way to spread the word of the importance of water conservation, as well as the impact of global warming and climate change.
The popular Oxford County festival moves between London, St. Thomas, and Woodstock on a three-year rotation. More than 700 volunteers tirelessly work to make the Festival, which was first held in Nebraska in 1988, an enormous success.
