Sidebar: Kids Dive into Water Research

Thanks to Mesner and Gillies’ research and outreach, students throughout the state are learning about the importance of water quality. Through hands-on activities, the students get the chance to be their own researchers.

Operated through USU Extension, the educational programs combine science-based information with hands-on activities. The programs present different subjects for different age levels, and are tailored for both formal and informal groups.

One method of teaching offered by the Water Quality program is a presentation given to students in traditional classrooms, field trips, or day camps. The programs teach about the water cycle, aquatic ecosystems, and water pollution.

Teachers and leaders wishing to learn more about water quality education can attend training sessions offered by the program. With names such as “Project WET,” “Utah Stream Team,” and “A River Runs Through Us,” these workshops give teachers the opportunity to brush-up on their ecology knowledge and teaching skills, all while earning graduate school credit.

The Water Quality program has also developed lesson plans and activities that teachers can present by themselves.

Through these lesson plans, younger students might learn about macroinvertebrates by using costume accessories that represent different adaptations they have that allow them to live in an aquatic environment. Sunglasses, for example may represent compound eyes, and a feather boa can be used for gills.

For high school-age students, the program has also developed activities, such as a biodiversity debate, where students can discuss the biological, aesthetic, ethical, social, and economic issues related to the construction of a dam.

Students on a field trip can get their feet wet in their own research by observing the organisms in water samples that they collect. Projects like these help students learn about the biodiversity around them while brushing up on their observation and charting skills.

Through the Extension Water Quality Program, teachers have the opportunity to conduct fun and interesting activities while sticking to the Utah Core Curriculum.

For more information, visit www.extension.usu.edu/waterquality.

- Anna McEntire