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Central Platte NRD Hosts Virtual Groundwater Festival

Central Platte NRD Hosts Virtual Groundwater Festival

03/05/2021

GRAND ISLAND, Nebraska -- The Nebraska Children’s Groundwater Festival, hosted by the Central Platte Natural Resources District, will be held virtually this year. All schools in Nebraska are invited to participate by accessing the Festival’s YouTube channel. 

Groundwater Festival Coordinator Marcia Lee said although activities will be online, the Festival’s presenters have developed hands-on and interactive activities for students to learn about groundwater within their own classrooms.

VIRTUAL PRESENTATIONS 

Teachers will have access to the presentations from April to June. Lee said since each presentation is 15 to 25 minutes in length, offering the activities online for two months will allow teachers time to incorporate them into their curriculum. The virtual format will also allow teachers to pause the presentations and have in-depth discussion about the activities.

The activities are all taught at fifth-grade science standard level; however, teachers of all grade levels are invited to participate. Each of the presentations have a groundwater connection such as watersheds, aquifers, wetlands, wildlife, water use, products made with groundwater, recycling, etc.

The Groundwater Festival ordinarily has 35 presenters in classrooms throughout the Central Community College and College Park campuses in Grand Island. With the virtual Festival, students will enjoy the same hands-on activities that create fun and memorable educational experiences and enable students to better understand the concepts the groundwater professionals are teaching.

2021 ACTIVITIES AND PRESENTERS

•  A Crumpled Watershed- Nebraska Extension        
•  Awesome Aquifers- Natural Resources Conservation Service                   
•  Bottle Bee Hotels- Central Community College     
•  Critter Cube Count- Izaak Walton League                                                     
•  Groundwater: It’s In What You Drink- Ensign Beverage     
•  H2O and the 3 Rs- Keep Loup Basin Beautiful                                                       
•  How Wetlands Work- Ducks Unlimited                              
•  Rain Stick Rattles- Noyes Art Gallery                                                                 
•  Seed Bombs for Meadow Pollinators- The Crane Trust     
•  Raptor Connection- Raptor Conservation Alliance                                                                                                                                 
•  Water Cycle Bingo- Hall County 4-H

FUNDING FOR SUPPLIES

The Festival is offering up to $150 reimbursement for schools to purchase materials for the activities with donations from local and statewide sponsors.

Schools that are interested in participating may download a School Participation Form by visiting the Central Platte NRD’s website at https://www.cpnrd.org/education/activities-events; or by contacting Marcia Lee or Brody Vorderstrasse at (308) 385-6282.