 Make
A Model Watershed
Use items available at your local store to demonstrate how a
watershed works. It’s an easy and fun experiment to do
at home or school.
You can build your own watershed with the following materials:
• A plastic water jug or a milk carton
• One rectangular aluminum pan (available at a supermarket)
• A package of flavored drink powder (grape or cherry
is best)
• Aluminum foil
• Paper cups
First, cut the paper cups, making them different heights. Then
place them in the aluminum pan, bottom up. These will be the
"mountains" in your watershed.
Next, stretch aluminum foil over the cups. Press the foil down
so that it fits snugly, high and low, over all the "mountains."
Tightly wrap aluminum foil at the edges of the pan.
Punch three or four small holes in the upper corner of your
plastic jug or milk carton. When you fill this container with
water, it will then sprinkle "rain." Let the rain
fall gently over the watershed, and notice how the water travels.
Next sprinkle drink powder on the different parts of the watershed.
Make it rain again. If the drink powder represents pollution,
describe how it can travel from one part of a watershed to another.
(This activity was adapted from a program developed by Valerie
Chase at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland.)
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 Bring
A Pool To School
Streams and lakes are all different. Here’s a project
that can show you and your classmates what’s in the water
in different places.
With an adult to help, take a clear plastic container to a public
pond, stream or lake. Fill the container with water, then bring
it to school.
Label the container with your name and the name of the water
source. Let the water stand for a day or two. Then look at it
closely.
Each container will have sediment inside
-- mud, small particles of dirt, plants and even tiny animals.
These sediments will settle on the bottom in some containers
or float around, barely visible, in others.
Strain the water through a paper filter. Look at the sediment
again. You will see there's a big difference in water
from different sources.
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