Tucson 4th graders learn about the water cycle and conservation at water festival

Amphi School District 4th graders gathered Tuesday at a park in Oro Valley for Tucson Water’s annual water festival.

Ariel and Talayah are fourth graders from Lulu Walker Elementary School. They sat on the ground with a plastic box with a little green planter surrounded by wood chips.

"I think the water is going in and then it's going into the lake while soaking into the ground," Ariel said.

Talayah poured the water over the woodchips, and it eventually pooled in the planter.

"This is for the rain. So, it's raining," Ariel said. "There's water coming into it now again."

Then, they used a soap bottle pump to draw up the water. It was a simple way to understand the process of pumping groundwater.

Candice Rupprecht heads the conservation program at Tucson Water, and she said the experiments, games and bracelets they made there will help the lessons stick.

"We’ll talk to adults that remember the experiences they had learning about water conservation as children," Rupprecht said.

Monique Berry-Kelley is Ariel and Talayah teacher. She said it’s important that the kids learn about the impact their water usage has.

"The thing that usually surprises them is that the water that we use is the water that's been on Earth since forever," Berry-Kelley said. "So, the water that you're drinking or bathing in or cooking with is the same water that dinosaurs may have drank or bathed in as well."

The event was the culmination of work the kids do in the classroom, which Berry-Kelley said includes lessons on the history of water use in the area.