Children's Water Festival
SWCD Children’s Water Festivals
Fort Lewis College, Durango, CO
Southwestern Water Conservation District is pleased to have offered the Annual Children’s Water Festival for 26 years. Approximately 750 fifth-grade students assemble each year at the Fort Lewis College campus in Durango, Colorado. It’s a science conference that focuses on water in our world. The presentations are designed to allow students to learn about the many different roles water plays in their individual lives, their communities, and the world in which they live. They feature exhibits and many hands-on presentations highlighting a variety of water-related topics. The goal is to provide a better understanding of water resources and the value and importance of water. The event was canceled due to the pandemic in 2020 – 2022 but has been back since 2023!
More information in this years Children's Water Festival
Over two decades of fifth-grade water education
In 2020 and 2021, the Southwestern Water Conservation District has hosted a spring contest for the Southwest Basin in lieu of the annual Children’s Water Festival. Any child in the 5th grade can participate by watching the Project Wet lesson on the water cycle, drawing their local water cycle, and sending it to us!
Presentations are structured to the fifth-grade learning level, which allows the students to retain the information in a hands on and educational manner. We work closely with school districts, private schools, and home schools to match the festival experience with their water curriculum.
Students have an opportunity to learn about the variety of water related career opportunities, as well as water rights, water in the human body, water conservation, water pollution, water safety, water species, water treatment, the dependency of water in a variety of industries, and much more.
For many students, the festival gives them their first opportunity to visit a college campus and therefore, introduces the idea of higher education. Students get to walk on the Colorado mesa University campus as well as experience what it is like to sit in a college classroom setting.
The Water Festival is a fun, educational experience for students and teachers. The Water Festival will engage students with topics such as water conservation, water chemistry, the water cycle, local water systems, species habitats, weather, water quality and ecology. Students will have fun with hands on activities while learning about local and global water issues.
Each year, Southwestern Water Conservation District covers the cost of the Water Festival and the schools provide bus transportation! ** Please make sure to check with your school bus scheduler to make sure of your arrival and departure time. The entire festival schedule for classes attending presentations is very tight and if you arrive late you will miss a presentation and will not be able to make it up. This goes for the Water Wizard as well! We want to make sure everyone has a great experience so timing is important.
** If you are a teacher, presenter or volunteer, please click here to register.