History

The Twin Cities Metro Children’s Water Festival has been held annually since 1998. Historically, it has been held in September at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.

Boy and Girl

Past Children’s Water Festivals have provided students with hands-on opportunities to learn about water and its importance to people and our natural environment. For example, at the 2002 festival, students learned about such things as where water goes when the toilet gets flushed, how tiny bugs can serve as an indicator of water quality, the importance of wetlands, and basic water science.

Some of the learning station topics at the 2003 festival included The Watershed, What Water Would You Drink?, Backyard Water Recycling, Just Passing Through (How vegetation keeps rainwater clean as it runs off into lakes and streams) and Down the Dirty Drain.

In 2004, students saw how to drill a well to get water out of the ground and how a dog named Clancy can sniff out toxic mercury so it can be safely removed from schools and other places we want to keep safe; and they joined Alex the Frog to learn how to keep a raindrop clean as it travels from rooftop to stream bank.

Paddling a Canoe

In 2005, it was raining so the (indoor) arcade area was especially popular this year. Some of the popular arcade activities include drawing pictures of fish (Fish Prints), the Groundwater Model, Soil Percolation, Waste Reduction video games, the Exotic Species Trunk, and Humpty Dumpty Ecosystem Puzzles.

Approximately 1,300 fifth grade students from each of the seven Metropolitan counties attended the 2002, 2003 and 2004 festivals to celebrate our most precious resource: water. About 1150 students attended in 2005

Use the “Past Festivals” button in the left margin to find out more. Or, you can visit other websites with interesting historical information:

The History of the Children's Groundwater Festival (The Groundwater Foundation)
September 2001 (Fourth Annual) Metro Children’s Water Festival (Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Web Site)

History Quiz Question

When and where was the first Children’s Water festival in the United States of America held?

Scroll down for the answer below:

According to the Central Colorado Water Conservancy District Website in 2004 (web page no longer available), the first water festival was sponsored by the Nebraska Groundwater Foundation in Grand Island in 1989. Read more about the history of Children’s Water Festivals and Children’s Ground Water Festivals.

This web site was created for the Metro Children’s Water Festival by Novel Web Sites Inc.