First By. The Children’s Water Festival flows into Gettysburg College Life / Entertainment

On May 24, approximately 1,630 4th and 5th graders, their teachers and attendants, and more than 300 volunteers will take part in the first children’s water festival in Pennsylvania at Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Sixty-eight classes of students will come from schools in Adams and York counties, including Lincoln Elementary School, Horse Valley High School, Bendersville Elementary School, Fairfield High School, St. Joseph’s Elementary School, Little Academy Christian School, Littlestown, Westmouth Mannheim, Park Hills Elementary, Baresville Elementary, St Francis Xavier, Annunciation BVM, Hanover Middle and Alloway Creek Intermediate.

The Children’s Water Festival in 2011 is modeled on the world-famous Children’s Groundwater Festival. At the festival, students will study the “History of Water in Pennsylvania” through dynamic and interactive activities, learn about drinking water, groundwater, watersheds, surface water and water quality in interesting presentations, and gain a better understanding of water supply. and more appreciation for being a truly valuable water resource.

All students will attend a Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter Tom Chapin. The events will be managed by experts in the field of water and natural resources from local, state and national organizations.

The events are held both inside the college auditoriums and outdoors under large tents. Of the many activities each class is designed for eight to enjoy the 4-1 / 2 hours they are scheduled for the festival.

One example of an activity is edible aquifers. This indoor activity, provided by EPA staff from Washington, D.C., and the Region III office in Philadelphia, teaches children about geological formations in the aquifer. Students build from ice cream, soda, splashes and other delicious treats that limit layers, contamination, recharging, dumping and water ceilings.

Another popular indoor activity is creating raincoats. Students will learn about the importance of water in their daily lives, as well as the legends and folk rites that different cultures have used over the years in trying to control the natural environment. They also get a great musical instrument that you can take home.

All students attend the activity hall, where many activities take place at the same time. Students rotate through these various stations, which include a fortune teller who entertains children with his crystal ball, full of suggestions on how to save water; game Scoop the Poop; where children learn about pollutants and how they can affect our waterways; Bubble-ology, where students are locked in a big bubble; Groundwater simulator; Flow table; and the Water Wheel of Fortune, where they spin a wheel and then have to answer a question about water, and these are just some of them.

One of the most popular and informative outdoor activities is the Big Rig, where students can see the rig and learn all about the process. William W. Reichart, Inc. put the Big Rig up for the 2011 festival.

In an era of limited budgets, this festival is free for participating schools. This was made possible by the generous support of sponsors, including the Water Systems Council, Gettysburg College, Franklin Electric, Goulds Pumps, Pentair Water Group, Pennsylvania Ground Water Association, Milby Company, Aquaflow Pump & Supply Company, William W. Reichart Inc. ., Grundfos Pumps Corporation, Baker Water Systems-Campbell / Moni-tor, AO Smith Water Systems, Flomatic ValVes, Master Water Conditioning Corporation, Boshart Industries, Fexcon Industries, Merrill Manufacturing, Adams Electric Cooperative Inc., CA Weber Insurance and Waterfall Alliance Adams County.