The original item was published from May 30, 2017 11:48 AM to May 31, 2017 9:16 AM
The skull of an Orca whale intrigues and
fascinates students at the Children’s Water
Festival, held March 14 at The University
of Puget Sound. (Photo courtesy of Oona Cooperhill.)
In a continuation of annual tradition,
over 600 5th graders from around Pierce
County converged on the
University of Puget Sound campus for the Children’s
Water Festival. The eager students
spent the day learning about water
through activities such as fish dissections,
wildlife displays, water testing,
and models. The campus was abuzz as
the students soaked in all the information
they could and interacted with the
volunteers who made the event possible.
Over 120 volunteers participated,
representing organizations such as local
water purveyors,
Harbor WildWatch,
Tacoma Water,
Pierce County PublicWorks, and many others. Students from
Jason Lee Middle School and Spanaway
Lake High School were also part of the
event, hosting stations and working
with the younger students. PCD is
in our third year of coordinating the
event, and the volunteers are critical
to the event’s success every year.
The University of Puget Sound also
deserves much of the credit, as they
have hosted the event the past
two years. At UPS, the 5th graders
experienced a university atmosphere,
2017 Water Festival in the Books
visiting labs and other learning spaces
that many of them have never seen.
We hope that some of these students
continue their learning about protecting
natural resources and return to the
Festival as experts and educators one
day in the not-too-distant future.