Rouge River Water Festival

Save the Date: September 13 to 16, 2011

Additional support provided by:

For more information: Contact Lisa Appel, LAppel@cranbrook.edu or 248-645-3223

Water festivals are designed to help fourth & fifth-grade students learn about the importance of water and how it is used in their daily lives. The objective of a water festival is to provide students with activities to help them understand water resource related issues. Some of these issues include:

Ecosystems

Biodiversity
Polluted vs unpolluted water
Urban vs rural settings
Wetlands

Geosphere

The Great Lakes
River systems and watersheds
Streambank erosion
Impacts on habitat

Hydrologic Cycle

Sources of pollution
Wastewater treatment
Surface water
Creeks and streams

The 2011 Rouge River Water Festival at Cranbrook Institute of Science will take place on September 13-16 and will accommodate up to 2,000 students. The water festival is a half-day educational experience for students from Rouge River Watershed community schools in Oakland County. Students will learn about the central role water and the Rouge River play within their region. Cranbrook Institute of Science in Bloomfield Hills, situated on three sub-branches of the Rouge River, offers an outstanding learning environment.

Each class will attend a series of outdoor and indoor presentations. Presentations will be 30 minutes and will be designed, as much as possible, to be interactive, hands-on learning experiences. All presentations and exhibits relate to water, its uses, and critical importance to us and our environment.

Approximately two weeks before the Water Festival, each registered school will receive a Water Festival package outlining their day's events and listing any other important information.

Who are the Presenters and Exhibitors?

Possible presenters and exhibitors include: professionals from local, state and federal government agencies, natural resource groups, environmental consultants, universities, museums, and industry. We also try to include middle school and high school student presenters when possible.

What are the Educational Benefits?

Each teacher will leave the Water Festival with a water resource curriculum guide, reviewed by local educators and water resource professionals, and developed to support state Grade Level Content Expectation requirements. Each water resource guide is filled with ideas to further implement a water-based curriculum in the classroom.

Presentations offered at the Water Festival are intended to reinforce the current science curricula taught at elementary schools throughout the Rouge River Subwatershed.

Who is invited to attend the 6th Annual Rouge River Water Festival?

All fourth & fifth grade classes in Oakland County Schools that are within the Rouge River Watershed. However, space is limited to approximately 2,000 students.

What is the cost?

This educational event is free to schools. Additionally, all Water Festival presenters, exhibitors and volunteers provide their time and expertise for free.

For more information: Contact Lisa Appel, LAppel@cranbrook.edu or 248-645-3223