EDUCATION PROGRAM
World of Water II
Grade Range: 4-5
Duration: 2 hours and 30 minutes
In this highly interactive program, students will learn about how Earth’s water is distributed and be challenged to consider their visible and invisible water use. Students will tour our Great Engines Hall, learning about the development of the public waterworks system in Boston, and then demonstrate how people’s actions can impact the Watersheds they live in on a large-scale model. They will also learn the basics of environmental equality and consider the many ways they can conserve and advocate for clean water in their everyday lives
$5 per student
Enduring Understanding
Freshwater is a limited natural resource that is used for many things, so it is important that it is protected and conserved. There are steps we can take every day to reduce our water footprint, protect our watersheds, and help push for everyone to have access to safe water.
Essential Question
How can we help conserve and protect Earth’s water?
Objectives
Students will be able to:
- Identify how all the water on Earth is distributed
- Understand that although renewable, freshwater is a limited natural resource and is only a small percentage of all the water on Earth
- Recognize the differences between visible and invisible water use
- Define a watershed and understand the importance of watershed protection
- Identify sources of pollution in a watershed and possible solutions
- Recognize that water problems do not affect every community equally
- Identify ways they can conserve and protect water at home and at school
- Recognize that as a city grows, so must its water supply and distribution infrastructure
Curriculum Connections
Next Generation Science Standards
Grade 4:
- 4-ESS3 Earth and Human Activity – A: Natural Resources – Energy and fuels that humans use are derived from natural sources, and their use affects the environment in multiple ways. Some resources are renewable over time, others are not. (4-ESS3-1)
Grade 5:
- 5-ESS2-2 Describe and graph the amounts of saltwater and freshwater in various reservoirs and provide evidence about the distribution of water on Earth.
- 5-ESS3-1 Obtain and combine information about ways individual communities use science ideas to protect the Earth’s resources and environment.
Upcoming Events
Current Exhibit
Moving Water: From Ancient Innovations to Modern Challenges
Ancient civilizations engineered water systems that sustained communities for thousands of years. This exhibition spotlights six places that innovated ways to deliver, and control water for human use. It also looks at how climate change is impacting all of those places, forcing public officials to consider new ways to keep the water flowing.