Project Description
Water & The Environment
Water is essential to life, and is our most precious resource. We use it to drink, for cooking, washing and hygiene, recreation, industry and agriculture. During this workshop students develop an understanding and appreciation of the importance and special properties of water.
Level: Suitable for Foundation to Year 4.
Duration: Available in a 60 or 90 minute format. We recommend a 90 minute format if budget and timetabling constraints allow.
Numbers: Each workshop can cater to a maximum of 30 children. However, smaller groups have better access to equipment and the facilitator.
State: VIC, NSW & QLD
Learning Outcomes
What is water? Where does it come from? Water cycle.
Water is essential to life and is our most precious resource. We use it to drink, for cooking, washing, recreation, industry and agriculture.
Special properties of water such as water tension, cohesion, buoyancy, density, and transparency.
The power of water and how it can transform landscapes and generate electricity.
Why is water in peril? What are we doing? What can you do?
Activities
Water cycle model, and set up of water cycle in groups for viewing throughout the session.
Group exploration of capillary action.
Each student uses pipettes and water on a sugar model landscape.
Students clean up a simulated oil spill with polymer powder.
90 minute workshops also include these activities:
Students use an indicator solution to test for pollution in water samples.
Demonstration of the properties of water including surface tension, cohesion and transparency.
Students are set a challenge which uses the surface tension of water.
Victorian Curriculum Links
Science knowledge helps people to understand the effects of their actions (VCSSU056)
Earth’s resources are used in a variety of ways (VCSSU047)
Earth’s surface changes over time as a result of natural processes and human activity (VCSSU062)
Participate in guided investigations, including making observations using the senses, to explore and answer questions (VCSIS051)
NSW Curriculum Links
Investigates regular changes caused by interactions between the Earth and the Sun, and changes to the Earth’s surface (ST2-10ES-S)
Questions, plans and conducts scientific investigations, collects and summarises data and communicates using scientific representations (ST2-1WS-S)
Australian Curriculum Links
Science knowledge helps people to understand the effects of their actions (ACSHE051)
Earth’s resources are used in a variety of ways (ACSSU032)
Earth’s surface changes over time as a result of natural processes and human activity (ACSSU075)
Participate in guided investigations, including making observations using the senses, to explore and answer questions (ACSIS025)
