The Pikes Peak Children’s Water Festival was created in 2017 for fourth and fifth graders because “The children in our community are the ones who will shape its future.”
That’s according to Travas Deal, chief executive officer of Colorado Springs Utilities.
The city, in the center of Colorado, has a population of 500,000 and is the state’s second largest. The utility treats 37 mgd of wastewater and maintains some 1,800 miles of sewers. A major wastewater treatment system expansion will begin this year.
The water festival brings together dozens of partner organizations to provide hands-on activities that strengthen professional and local relationships. It also highlights water careers and complements regular classroom programming the utility offers during the school year.
The 2024 Children’s Water Festival was held in May at the city’s University of Colorado, Colorado Springs campus, exposing the students to a college setting and supporting future career exposure. Attendance ranges from 500 to 800.
Rules of engagement
The utility staff promotes the event directly to school districts. Educators use the festival as an educational field trip. It is jointly organized by the utility and the city.
The planning committee includes representatives from the city, Colorado Springs Utilities, the city of Fountain, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the Pikes Peak Library District, El Paso County Nature Centers and Public Works Department, school districts and the host facility.
More than 50 presenters from 15 organizations staff activity stations. Volunteers from the planning committee help with the day’s activities. Festival sponsors make donations to cover the costs of presenters, volunteer lunches, T-shirts and facility expenses.
A busy day
The festival starts on a school day with an opening ceremony at 9:30 a.m. and ends at 1 p.m. Students stay with their classmates and rotate through activities every 25 minutes. Dewey, the utility’s water mascot, dances with the children at the opening.
Each student receives a neck gaiter and a workbook at check-in. All the kids attend a Water Wizard trivia station and compete against other classes. The winning classes receive a small prize, such as a slap bracelet for each team member.
Birgit Landin, senior community education specialist with Colorado Springs Utilities, observes, “The live fish station, sponsored by Colorado Parks and Wildlife, is one of the most popular. It’s fun to hear the squeals of wonder as students get to hold native fish, such as the greenback cutthroat trout. They have to be especially careful not to lose the slippery fish.”
Classes are assigned five diverse activity stations to visit during the festival. “The variety represents the wide range of water- related challenges — supply, infrastructure, water quality, environmental health, biological and cultural — that tie into academic standards and STEM concepts taught in the schools,” says Landin. Other popular activities stations besides Water Wizard and the fish station include:
- This Truck Sucks, where students learn about how a vacuum truck works and about careers in water operations
- Sediment Transport, where kids build sand landscapes and observe erosion by fast-moving water
- Fire Science, a hands-on program that teaches fire safety, forest health, wildfire risk and the consequences of fire misuse
- Cathodic Protection, demonstrating corrosion prevention on a large water pipeline
- Water Below Your Feet, where kids create an aquifer and attempt to keep pollutants out
Popular program
Feedback from students and educators has been positive. “The attendees love this fun and educational experience and hope their school districts select them to return next year,” Landin says.
Students hope for good weather and enjoy getting wet at the water system relay. After getting soaked, one student said he would start saving water at that moment — because he didn’t need a shower that day.
