About Make a Splash

What is Make a Splash?
Make a Splash with Project WET is the largest nationwide day of water education in the world. It is celebrated across the United States with water festivals, which are educational, fun, and interactive water celebrations where students explore a diversity of water-related topics.

What is a water festival?
Water festivals consist of multiple structured learning stations where students actively engage in hands-on water activities and investigations. Station topics include the hydrologic cycle, ground water, spring water, water quality, wetlands, water management, water conservation, soils, and the properties of water.

View Quicktime Video of a Make a Splash Festival

What topics are addressed?
Each festival is unique, addressing a theme of local importance. Subjects that are typically addressed include the hydrologic cycle, ground water, spring water, water quality, wetlands, water management, water conservation, soils, living history and more. Water festivals, like all Project WET activities, teach children about an important topic in a manner that's fun and exciting.

Where are festivals held?
Make a Splash festivals are scheduled for 90 locations in all 50 states this year. Over 50,000 students are scheduled to participate. View a map of 2006 festival locations

How can I hold a Make a Splash festival in my school, classroom or community?
The best way to inquire about holding a Make a Splash Festival in your community is to contact your state Project WET Coordinator or contact National Project WET at info@projectwet.org

The water festival as an educational tool
Make a Splash with Project WET Water Festivals are designed to emphasize water education principles within a fun, interactive environment. Unlike traditional "look and leave" field trips, Project WET Water Festivals provide a solid educational framework for teachers and students.

Pre- and post-festival activities and creative assessments are included in materials provided to all participating teachers to reinforce the lessons from the festival. While grounded in water science principles, water festivals also promote multidisciplinary approaches to learning by incorporating social studies, geography, language arts and art.

Festivals are widely used to deliver factual, up-to-date information on a variety of water-related topics to both students and adults. The hands-on, interactive learning stations are designed to reach students with diverse learning styles, including those who may struggle in a traditional classroom setting.

Local water resource experts are used as instructors at the water festival stations, creating bridges between teachers, students and local experts that often result in follow-up visits. When outdoor sites are used as the water festival setting students develop a connection with that natural area, often leading them to revisit the site with their parents or on their own.

What the research says
When combined with pre- and post-festival classroom reinforcement the festival (often called “field day”) format has proven to be an effective method of promoting awareness, increasing knowledge of water resources, building positive attitudes toward science and scientific topics, and can serve as a catalyst for conservation behavior change. For a summary of research on this topic please see Best Practices for Field Days: A Program Planning Guidebook for Organizers, Presenters, Teachers and Volunteers. University of Minnesota Extension Service, 2006. http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/naturalresources/DD8208.html

Is the festival part of a larger curriculum of water education?
Yes. The Project WET Curriculum and Activity Guide is a collection of over 90 interdisciplinary activities that deal with water-related topics. To learn about this and other water education materials visit the Project WET Store. In addition, the exhibits and activities at the event are accompanied by materials to help teachers integrate more water-related activities into their curriculum.

Why is it important to teach children about water resources?
One of the core beliefs of Project WET is that that wise water management is crucial for providing tomorrow's children with social and economic stability in a healthy environment. We also believe that awareness of and respect for water resources can encourage a personal, lifelong commitment of responsibility and positive community participation.