Possible Activities for a Family Lake Day
Most frequently used activity stations that Maine Department of Environmental Protection has done with school groups and children at family lake days. There are many other activities from the Project Wet and Aquatic Wild can be done as well.
1. Watershed Model – At this station, a plastic three-dimensional EnviroScape model depicts a developed lakeside community. Students add pollutants to the watershed and observe how the lake water can be contaminated by the daily living habits of community members. Next they add vegetation (buffers) that slows and filters the polluted rain water resulting in clean lake water. They learn how individual homeowners and people can pollute and protect lake water quality. (We have several of these models.)
2. Musical Milfoil a game based on musical chairs. First information is provided concerning the identification of certain aquatic plants. Then students play the game and see how fast the plants proliferate. Next they see how the invasive of these plans can interfere with their favorite recreational activities on the lake.
3. Erosion (Scavenger) Hunt – Students will learn to spot problem areas that may cause soil to erode into the lake. They will hunt for erosion along the shore of the lake and natural or man-made aspects that prevent erosion. In addition, they will learn how to prevent or control these problem areas. This is a good opportunity to learn why we have shoreland zoning laws and other environmental protection laws.
4. Just Passing Through- A running and tagging game where students pretend to be a water droplets rolling down hills with and without a buffers (trees and shrubs). Students learn first hand how vegetation slows down the flow of water and filters out nutrients that can feed the algae in the lake.
5. Stormwater Obstacle Course- A series of actions students do that protect water quality: pick up a fake doggy poop, recycle car oil, pick off bugs from plants, mulch bare soil, plant small plants, etc. The students are timed by starting with the crash of thunder (trash can lid) and try to finish before the rain comes (rain stick).
6. Macroinvertebrates – Under microscopes or hand lenses, the students will observe and classify lake and stream macroinvertebrates ("bugs). Depending on location, students can collect the "bugs" or the presenter can bring bugs from different locations. Some types of bugs are more sensitive to pollution than other types of bugs. Scientists at DEP use bugs are indicators of pollution or poor water quality. There is also a movement game called Macroinvertebrate Mayhem that can be a complementary station.
7. Macroinvertebrate Mayhem - Students play a game of tag to simulate the effects of environmental stressors on water bugs. Each student becomes a bug and the most sensitive to pollution are more easily tagged. For example a Caddisfly larvae gets in a sack and has to hop around.
8. Incredible Journey- Students play a game of chance rolling a water cycle dice pretending they are a water drop going through the water cycle. They move from lake to cloud to groundwater etc. Along the way they list and discuss what type of pollutants they may have picked up.
9. Common Water - This station considers water use from an historical perspective. Using various sized sponges to represent water use, the students re-live 3-4 different of this region to consider how land use affected the quality and quantity of the water in the lake.
10. Printing T-shirts – Students create their own T-shirts on either "plant a buffer" or "clean your boat". There is a block print type pattern that the students paint and press on to their shirts. Then they decorate by painting full size rubber fish, frog stamps and a selection of native leaves and then pressing these on to the T-shirt. This is a good culmination for many of these activities.
11. Sand Castle Contest- This is an erosion prevention twist on the favorite sandcastle building contest. In a sand box or at the beach participants build a sand castle. The winner is the castle that best withstands a rainstorm produced by emptying the entire contents of a watering can.
12. Invasive Plant game- In this DEP created game board participants roll a dice and travel around a map of Maine. They have to buy their Lake and River Protection sticker and answer questions to learn more about the threat of invasive as they visit varoius lakes in Maine.
Whole group activities:
Mock Town Meeting- Students are divided into groups that circulate around the activities of the day. Each group is assigned a role in a controversal development of the lake, like the development of an amusement park. Possible groups could be; the developers, the lake association, the bass fishing club, the town officials, the contractors, the neighbors or what ever is pertinent to the local. This is a great culmination and assessment to do at the end of the day.
Community project- Organize a buffer planting event or erosion control work project as part of the day or on another day. Have the students make signs and get the media to come to publicize the event.
