PUA LOKE — How many drops of water can you place on the head of a penny? No idea? Well then, how many paper clips can you float in a cup of water? Those were only two of the fun
PUA LOKE — How many drops of water can you place on the head of a penny?
No idea? Well then, how many paper clips can you float in a cup of water?
Those were only two of the fun activities fifth grade students enjoyed during the 4th Annual Make A Splash event coordinated by the Department of Water yesterday at the park fronting its office in Pua Loke.
“This year, we had more than 500 students in fifth grades from around the island,” said Faith Shiramizu, the DOW public information officer and coordinator for the event. “But what’s even better was we got a call from ARC earlier this week, and they got to be part of the event as well.”
Coordinating between various agencies and community volunteers, the students engaged in a variety of learning experiences pertaining to water, one of the essential materials to sustaining life.
Exercises were set up in various activity stations around the park, and groups from the different schools were escorted by Kapa‘a High School Jr. ROTC chaperones.
Col. Jerald Knudsen of the Kapa‘a Jr. ROTC program said 62 of their program’s cadets and officers were involved in helping the DOW coordinators and volunteers.
But beyond the Make A Splash event which seemed to be a learning experience for the cadets as well, Knudsen said they had to prepare for the color guard duty at the Friday night football game, the blessing of the football stadium, and man the food booth.
Shiramizu said in addition to the Kapa‘a Jr. ROTC, volunteers came from the East and West Soil and Water Conservation District, the Department of Forestry and Wildlife, the Kaua‘i Fire Department, the Kaua‘i Police Department, retired teachers, Shiramizu, Loo & Nakamura, the Hawai‘i Invasive Species Committee, the University of Hawai‘i and Kaua‘i Farm Bureau, Princeville at Hanalei, the National Tropical Botanical Gardens, the County of Kaua‘i Parks and Recreation agency, Bishop Museum, R.W. Beck and the Hawai‘i Nature Center.
One of the Hanalei School teachers noted that the presenter at the Bishop Museum exhibit which concentrated on three areas of learning, was a captivating experience for students as they became sun, clouds and rain to illustrate the points of evaporation, condensation and precipitation. Those three concepts led to learning about kalo and the arena of learning kept widening.
Larry Dill of Princeville got help from Alan Muraoka of the soil and water conservation in illustrating how pollutants affect drinking water, using student help in simulating water pumps from a transparent geologic cutaway that illustrated the movement of water and pollutants through the earth.
One of the more active and engrossing stations involved “Long Haul,” an exercise that pit the Kilauea School class broken up into a boys versus girls bucket brigade.
As the exercise started, students moved water from one bucket to another at the end of the bucket brigade, chanting “Don’t Waste Water.”
Project Water Education for Teachers (WET) has simultaneous water festivals similar to the Pua Loke event taking place across the nation on National Project WET Water Education Day which was celebrated yesterday (Sept. 22).
According to a project handbook for teachers, more than 50,000 students, teachers and interested citizens participated in Make A Splash projects from all 50 states.
The handbook goes on to say the water festival format has proven to be an effective method of promoting awareness and increasing knowledge of water resources, delivering factual, up-to-da te information about a variety of water-related topics to both students and adults.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@kauaipubco.com.
