It's Water-Wise Wednesday with Frannie the Fish {The Groundwater Foundation's Pinterest}

Girl Scout Troop Leaders!

Frannie wants to share The Groundwater Foundation's Pinterest page with you! Find fun, hands-on activities to do with your troop on our Girl Scout Leader Resources board.

Discover books, films, and the products we love as well.

Or check out ways to conserve water in your home!

Share pictures of your troop earning your Let's Keep It Clean! badge or doing a groundwater activity and you could be featured on Frannie's blog and The Groundwater Foundation's Pinterest page!

It's Water-Wise Wednesday with Frannie the Fish {Water Wheel}

This week Frannie is going to show you how to create your own water wheel and learn about hydropower! Hydropower is the power derived from the energy of falling water or fast running water. This power can be used for a number of activities, including powering machines and also generating electricity.

Here's what you'll need:

• Two paper plates
• One straw
• Seven Dixie Cups
• Small magnet
• Masking tape
• Push pin
• Pen
• Scissors
• String
• "Recycle me" label
• Bucket
• Water

Here's what you do:

1. Start by placing the two paper plates back to back. You may find it helpful to loosely tape the plates together to keep them even.

2. Use the push pin to punch a hole in the middle of the two paper plates. Increase the size of the hole by pushing the pen tip through the hole. Then, use the scissors to make the hole large enough to hold a straw.

3. Using the masking tape, tape seven Dixie Cups around the edge of the two plates. The Dixie Cups should have about half an inch between them.

4. Create a "Recycle me" label and place it on the outside of the wheel. In order to recycle the wheel, you will need to separate the pieces.

5. Place a straw through the center hole and secure it with tape.

6. Take a piece of string about three feet long and tie a magnet to the end of the string. Tie the other end of the string tightly around the straw as close to the center of the plates as possible.

7. Thread a long piece of string through the straw. Have two Girl Scouts hold the string at either end.

8. Place the water wheel over the bucket. Make sure the magnet is not hitting the ground or the bottom of the bucket.

9. Pour the water into the Dixie Cups.

10. Watch as the water wheel spins and the magnet begins to lift off the ground.


Discussion Questions:

• What happens to the wheel when the water flows quickly?
• What happens when the rate of the water flow is reduced?
• What would happen if the weight of the magnet increased?
• What are some variables that affect the amount of weight that can be lifted by the water wheel?

Share pictures of your Girl Scout troop with their water wheels!

It's Water-Wise Wednesday with Frannie the Fish {30by30 Prize Competition}

Girl Scouts and Troop Leaders - Don't forget to log your water use withThe Groundwater Foundation's 30by30 app during The Groundwater Foundation's Girl Scout prize competition - from May 1 - June 13, 2016!

The average American uses 100 gallons of water a day, the 30by30 app is a fun tool you can use to learn how to reduce by 30 gallons a day for 30 days! Simply choose an activity (for example - taking a shower or washing your hands) and the app calculates how much water you use and provides easy tips on how to reduce. This free app is available for both Apple and Android products.

Registered Girl Scouts and Troop Leaders that use the app from now until June 13th to learn how to reduce their water use will be entered to win one of sixteen super cool prizes!

 

 

Get your troop involved in conserving water with the 30by30 app!

Questions? Contact The Groundwater Foundation at girlscouts@groundwater.org. 

It's Water-Wise Wednesday with Frannie the Fish {Nebraska Children's Groundwater Festival}

This week Frannie attended the Nebraska Children's Groundwater Festival in Grand Island, Nebraska. This annual, one-day festival brings fourth and fifth grade students from across Nebraska together to learn about our most precious resource - groundwater. The Nebraska Children's Groundwater Festival was started by The Groundwater Foundation and is now in its 28th year! The Central Platte Natural Resources District has since taken over management of the event.

The Nebraska Children's Groundwater Festival has inspired nearly 40 states in the United States and Mexico, Canada, India, and the United Kingdom to hold groundwater festivals of their own!

At the festival, students learn about all aspects of groundwater so they can make informed conservation and protection decisions on behalf of groundwater in the future. Frannie participated in the Awesome Aquifer Kit demonstration. Other activities students participated in include:

• A magic show about groundwater.

• The Raptor Connection - where students meet live raptors and learn how they rely on groundwater and surface water for food, shelter and nesting areas.
• Water Rockets - Students use water and compressed air to make water rockets.

Find out more about the Nebraska Children's Groundwater Festival!

It's Water-Wise Wednesday with Frannie the Fish {Test Your Knowledge}

Frannie loves water trivia, see if you can answer the trivia questions below!

1. Where does water usually move the slowest?

A. Aquifer
B. Precipitation
C. River
D. Faucet






2. What happens when more water is taken out of an aquifer than is put back in?

A. Runoff
B. Flooding
C. Depletion
D. Saturation









3. Approximately how many gallons of water are used to produce a burger, fries, and a soda?

A. 35
B. 3,000
C. 250
D. 1,400








4. What use withdraws the most total groundwater per day in the U.S.?

A. Irrigation
B. Public Supply
C. Industry







5. How long can a person live without water?

A. One day
B. One week
C. One hour
D. One month







Did You Know?

• About 27 trillion gallons of groundwater are withdrawn for use in the U.S. each year (Ground Water Protection Council).
• A gallon of water weighs about 8 pounds.
• The High Plains Aquifer covers eight states and 175,000 miles (U.S. Geological Survey).
• About 25% of all rainfall in the U.S. becomes groundwater (U.S. Geological Survey).
• Water is the only substance on Earth found naturally in three forms - solid, liquid, and gas.

For more fun groundwater trivia, check out The Groundwater Foundation's mobile app for Apple, Water1der! 

Answers:  1. A  2. C  3. D  4. A  5. B

It's Water-Wise Wednesday with Frannie the Fish {30by30 Girl Scout Prize Competition}

The Groundwater Foundation is having a prize competition using 30by30 just for Girl Scouts and Girl Scout Troop Leaders! 

30by30 is a fun, free water-tracking app for Android and Apple. Check out Frannie's previous post about 30by30! Download the app to track how much water you use, simply select an activity and the app calculates the amount of water for you! 

Register yourself and your troop for the prize competition and participate by using the app between May 1 - June 13! Encourage each Girl Scout to download 30by30 on her personal device. Each day you log your activities translates to one entry into the prize drawing! You will be entered to win cool prizes like: a 16 GB iPod Nano, hands-on science kits, an Awesome Aquifer Kit, and much more! Check out all the prizes here! 
 

 

Questions? E-mail girlscouts@groundwater.org.

Have fun and save water!

It's Water-Wise Wednesday with Frannie the Fish {Earth Day}

Friday, April 22, 2016 is Earth Day! 

There is a wide variety of activities you can do and actions you can take this Friday (and beyond!) to celebrate Earth Day, from water conservation to recycling to tree planting, there is something proactive and environmentally-conscious you can do!  

Check out these fun ideas of how to get involved:

• Find a fun activity or festival near you to get involved and make a difference.

• Register your troop for the 30by30 prize competition for Girl Scouts. Get each of your Girl Scouts to track their water use and learn fun, easy ways to reduce. Every day you and your Scouts log activities translates to one entry into the prize drawing! Participate May 1-June 13.

• Use the Earth Day Action Toolkit with your troop to plan a long-term program. 

Share how you will be celebrating Earth Day!