Down the Drain is a useful project for anyone, and it can be done all year round. Being a science and math major, well, back in the day I was, I really like the scientific approach to this fun experiment. Of course we all want to save water - we can’t live without it.
Down the Drain encourages youth to track their water use. This project was developed by the Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education (CIESE) which is located at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Who can participate?:
The project was developed for 4th-8th grade age kids, but is honestly useful for us all. There’s no registration, and no rules about who can try this project out. It’s ongoing, free, and there’s interaction with data from kids everywhere.
How it works:
- First there are some cool water lessons to do, these lessons are designed to help kids realize just how much water is in a gallon, thus allowing them to more accurately record water use. Kids record their personal and their household’s water use separately for one week. There are water collection data sheets available at the site for both personal and home use.
- At the end of one week kids can compile their results and submit the data to the project website.
- In between starting and completing this project, kids get to develop a hypothesis and make predictions. Later there are tips for kids about water shortages, saving water, and even a really neat mind boggler.
Overall, this is one of the better thought out projects I’ve seen related to kids and water use. Try Down the Drain to celebrate Earth Day, or just try it because you want to save water.