How do you encourage future generations to protect and conserve our drinking water? Teach them while they’re young. And that’s exactly what Tampa Bay Water is doing!
Tampa Bay Water and the museum have partnered to bring new and exciting additions to the water exhibit including a water treatment station and pipe wall. The station teaches families how water moves from the source to the tap, while the pipe wall puts water use into context of their daily lives. The exhibit also includes a climber, where kids become a drop of water to learn the water cycle; an Ocean Sandbox, where kids dive into an augmented reality ocean environment; and educational kiosks so kids can learn more about how local students conserve and protect water.
Since 2012, Tampa Bay Water has funded a portion of the watershed and source water protection programming for the Cross Bar Environmental Education Center. Located on a 12,500-acre wellfield in north-central Pasco County, Fla., this facility annually provides more than 5,000 students from Pasco County schools hands-on learning about wetland health, watershed protection and water quality. Students learn about reforestation from planting Longleaf Pines and study water quality through field testing from different water sources at Cross Bar Ranch and Starkey Park. Also, at Starkey Park, students study gopher tortoise burrows and learn how prescribed burns promote healthy wetlands and replenish the watershed.
