Close to 240 fifth-graders from several Kanawha County elementary schools will descend on the state Capitol on Friday, Sept. 14, for the annual fall Children’s Water Festival, sponsored by the state Department of Environmental Protection.
The event will be conducted from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., around the fountain on the Capitol’s north side. Some of the activities will focus on identifying bugs and their importance; how flooding occurs and how pollution affects a watershed; and the stages of the water cycle. Schools expected to participate include Belle, Bridgeview, Bridge, Alum Creek and Andrew Heights.
“The festival emphasizes hands-on water education, which works well in a wide-open, outdoor area,” said the DEP’s Kim Maxwell, one of the event’s organizers. “The students will have the chance to run beneath the trees, splash water freely, and learn in an outdoor classroom for the day. We are happy to have the Capitol Building in case of extreme inclement weather, but we really hope to have the entire Water Festival in the space in front of the golden dome.”
For more information about the Water Festival, contact Tomi Bergstrom at 304-926-0499, ext. 1098, or
Tomi.M.Bergstrom@wv.gov; or Maxwell at 304-465-1938, ext. 3191 or
Kimberly.A.Maxwell@wv.gov.