Water conservation activities for kids

Saving water is a family affair

by Lynne Geller, communications and outreach, Water Resources Program

Photo credit: Province of British Columbia

If there is one thing the 2015 drought is teaching us, it is not to take water for granted. (As of Oct. 20, 68% of our state is still in “extreme drought”.) Practicing water conservation every day, every year, just makes sense. Conserving simply means not wasting.

Why not make learning about water conservation enjoyable, for you and your family? The web has a wealth of free learning materials for kids of all ages. Spend some quality time with the kids in your life, learn some new things, and have some fun -- all at the same time. And along the way, understand more about the importance of water conservation and what you can do to save water.

Check out the Water Use It Wisely web pages. You will find interactive and downloadable games. You can go to the Tip Tank and learn water saving tips using a memory game of matching pictures (you may know the game as “Concentration”). Discover the role of water in our lives: Spin the earth to select a topic (for example, the water cycle, watersheds, using water wisely.) Then for each topic, there are games, quizzes and a video, plus other learning tools. Or have some fun testing your skill at saving raindrops, working against the clock.

WaterSense is a partnership program sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which is all about using water efficiently. You have probably seen the WaterSense label on products like showerheads and toilets – and even new single-family homes! WaterSense Kids provides some basic water use information and then you are tested in a challenging “Test Your WaterSense” interactive game. Help your kids take a water drop through a maze of water pipes and answer water use questions, while being careful to not to be gobbled up by Water Wasters.

Try your hand at Washing Machine Basketball and other interactive games at conserveh2o.org. The site also has downloadable activity books where you can connect-the-dots, find your way through mazes, color by number, find the picture that doesn’t belong – and be learning about water and water conservation at the same time. 

If you are feeling a little more ambitious, look at the materials developed by WaterSense for kids grades 3 through 5: WaterSense materials for elementary-level kids. There are two sets of learning materials, A Day in the Life of a Drop and Fix a Leak Week. The web has a great selection of materials for educators.

These links are just a start. Conserving water in the home isn’t hard – it’s just about learning some easy things to do, and then remembering to do them! Start today, and make it a family affair.