WATER {kids}

WATER is part of all of us. It is in our food, our bodies, and our environment. We need it to grow and thrive on the planet. Water makes up a large majority of most organisms in fact HUMANS are made up of 70% water! (Some organisms are made up of as much as 95%!)

It's important for us to protect our water sources and learn more about ways to keep them safe. Use the activities below to learn about WATER as you explore the exhibit.

Can you name all the major rivers that are shown? Use this link for clues: http://www.mapsofworld.com/usa/states/nebraska/nebraska-river-map.html

Use the word bank and list your answers below.

Accumulation / Condensation / Evaporation / Subsurface

Runoff / Surface Runoff / Transpiration / Precipitation

Move like rolling WAVES when you walk past the wave images on the wall. Artist Pierre Carreau used high speed photography to capture them!

How does this look when you speed it up? Watch to find out!

Agriculturalists and engineers use the equation, πr2 (pi times radius squared), to figure out how much land a center-pivot irrigation system will cover. Pi is about 3.14, but has so many digits it goes on forever!

Because it sounds like the word pie and because it is such a unique number, it can make for some funny math!

Which animal loves Pi the most? The pi-thon.

Did you know that 3.14 percent of sailors are pi-rates?

Never talk to Pi, he'll go on forever!

The worst thing about getting hit in the face with Pi is that it goes on forever.

How can we protect our water at home?

1. Use a trashcan to prevent garbage from ending up in our rivers and streams.

2. Shut off the water while brushing your teeth (By doing so, you will save 3-5 gallons of water a minute and 1200 gallons per year of running water.)

3. Keep a pitcher of cold water in your refrigerator instead of waiting for tap water to get cool.

HOW MUCH WATER DOES IT TAKE?

Water is needed not only to grow everything we eat but also to produce almost all the products we use every day. This water is supplied by nature as precipitation or added by people during the growing and production process. You can't tell by the size of a product or the appearance of a particular food how much water was actually used to produce the item.

Bread- 200 Gallons (this includes the water used to grow the wheat and water needed for manufacturing); Corn- it takes 50 Gallons to produce 1 pound of corn; An Orange- 13 gallons (orang juice takes 45 gallons!); Chicken- 1 pound of chicken takes 500 gallons (water is needed for the chickens to drink and to maintain the chicken house and grow food for the chicken.); Hamburger- 460 gallons (Estimates vary a lot due to different conditions. It takes a lot water to grow grain to feed and clean cows.)

WATER CYCLE:

1. Accumulation 2. Precipitation 3. Condensation 4. Transpiration 5. Subsurface Runoff 6. Runoff 7. Condensation 8. Evaporation

Email: info@thekaneko.org
Website: thekaneko.org
Location: 1111 Jones St, Omaha, NE, United States
Phone: 402-341-3800
Facebook: facebook.com/thekaneko
Twitter: @kaneko1111