UMaine to host Northern Maine Children’s Water Festival Oct. 11

More than 650 students from 12 middle and elementary schools throughout northern and central Maine will convene at the University of Maine on Tuesday, Oct. 11 for the biennial Northern Maine Children’s Water Festival.

The festival, which will be held from 9 a.m.–2 p.m. in the New Balance Field House, offers an opportunity for students to learn about the value of clean water and healthy habitats, and provides teachers with related educational materials.

Water resource professionals from Maine and other parts of New England will present about water, wetlands, human health and aquatic life. David Sturm, an instructional laboratory and lecture demonstration specialist at UMaine, will perform a physics demonstration focused on water.

Students will have the opportunity to participate in a water trivia game show and explore educational exhibits and presentations including, “Sea Farming in Maine,” presented by the UMaine Aquaculture Research Institute; “Vernal Pools: Cycles of Life,” by the Chewonki Foundation; “Bugs Down Under,” by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection; and “Every Drop Counts,” by Project Learning Tree.

The festival is provided at no cost to the participants. Attendance is limited, and schools are selected on a competitive basis.

The Northern Maine Children’s Water Festival is organized by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, UMaine’s Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions, UMaine Cooperative Extension 4-H, Maine Audubon, Penobscot County Soil and Water Conservation District, and Stillwater Environmental Engineering. Sponsors for the event include Patriot Renewables, IDEXX, ReEnergy Holdings, Brookfield Renewable Energy, the Maine Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), Maine Sea Grant, Casella Organics, Northeast Laboratory Services, Norlen’s Water Treatment, Maine Water Utilities Association, and Penobscot Energy Recovery Co.

More information is available online.