Arizona Project WET Delivers STEM Education to 4th Graders at Flagstaff Water Festival

Flagstaff, Ariz. (Sept. 25, 2014) -- Last week, 1,080 fourth graders from Flagstaff’s private, charter, and public schools gathered at the Flagstaff Water Festival at Foxglenn Park (4200 E. Butler Ave.) to learn about Arizona’s water resources and water on the earth system.

The interactive community water festival event was part of a month-long celebration of water stewardship and STEM education sponsored by SCA and the City of Flagstaff. The Water Festival unit included teacher professional development, a Water STEM implemented by teachers, and culminated in the community-supported Water Festival Education Event.

At the festive event, more than 40 service learning volunteers from Northern Arizona University's College of Education and 15 community members and staff from SCA and the City led interactive lessons about groundwater flow, the water cycle, watershed management and water conservation. Attendance at the Water Festival nearly doubled this year with registered attendees from the Flagstaff Unified School District and six charter and private schools, including more than 17 homeschooling families.

In its third consecutive year and the seventh event for the City of Flagstaff, the program reached 667 students in 2013 with the help of 26 teachers and 40 volunteers. The 2014 program reached 1,080 students, 156 parents, and 39 teachers with the help of nearly 60 volunteers.

Created by Arizona Project WET, the Arizona Water Festivals have reached more than 71,500 students statewide since the year 2000. The program is grant-funded and relies on the support of local sponsors, such as utilities and local businesses, to support effective K-12 water science education.

“The Arizona Water Festival program combines effective teacher professional development, direct student outreach that extends classroom learning, and community engagement,” said Director Kerry Schwartz.  “Bringing these components together is the hard work that APW does to achieve STEM literacy and water stewardship education in Arizona’s communities!”

Arizona Project WET is a program of the Water Resources Research Center and Arizona Cooperative Extension, both part of the University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. It is recognized by the Project WET Foundation for excellent state-specific water education resources including the Arizona Conserve Water Educators’ Guide, School Water Audit Program, and Water Scene Investigations.

For more information on the Arizona Water Festival program, please visit https://arizonawet.arizona.edu/programs/arizona_water_festival or contact Tina Sleeper at tsleeper@cals.arizona.edu.