Submitted by WET Science Center
Practice paleontology and get to know the dinosaurs with this week’s Rediscovering Science theme with the WET Science Center. Dinosaurs knew about the water cycle, do you? They drank, swam and walked through water while it transformed between a liquid (water), gas (air), or solid (ice). You can thank the water cycle for changing dinosaur pee back into fresh water for us to use today!
On our Rediscovering Science page, find links to:
- Create your own fossils
- Make dinosaur bones
- Build a dinosaur nest
- Story time: “Did a Dinosaur Drink this Water?” by Robert E. Wells
In this week’s printed packet, enjoy:
- Measuring Earth’s timeline from the first sign of water to now
- Making a paper dinosaur and puzzle
- Coloring sheets and a crossword
- Instructions for creating your own water cycle in a bottle
You can pick up printed packets outside of the WET Science Center on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Email the WET Science Center photos of the activities that you do to receive a prize.
How does water move around Earth?
It’s been three thousand eight hundred million years since the first evidence of water on Earth and scientists are still figuring out how water got here and when! Watch the short TED Ed “Where did Earth’s water come from?” to learn about water’s cosmic journey. Once water was here, it never left. Likewise, more water can’t be created on Earth. This means the water on Earth two hundred thirty million years ago, when dinosaurs first appeared, is the same water on Earth today. You’re using the same water dinosaurs used!
Since it first appeared on our planet, water has gone through the water cycle, changing between liquid, solid, and gas, moving through natural elements like plants, soil, rock, and air. Through this natural process, the water is cleaned and changes locations. Humans alter the natural water cycle as we pull water out of the ground with wells and pump it through our towns and agricultural areas. Unfortunately, this water is often then contaminated with chemicals, human waste, and trash. Rain water also rushes over impermeable surfaces like sidewalks, roads, and buildings, picking up pollution along the way. Unlike dinosaurs, the way humans use water can hurt the planet’s health.
Our ability to protect and conserve water now will affect local water supplies in the coming years. LOTT Clean Water Alliance produces Class A Reclaimed Water, highly treated wastewater that can be used for almost anything but drinking. Using reclaimed water for irrigation conserves our precious drinking water. At Hawks Prairie Reclaimed Water Ponds, Class A Reclaimed Water infiltrates into the ground through a series of pipes and recharge basins, replenishing groundwater in our local aquifers.
From dinosaurs to humans, and all life before and between, water has been essential. We will always need water, so we must protect what we have for today, tomorrow, and the years to come. Remember to check out the dinosaur science activities on the Rediscovering Science page to learn more about the ancient creatures that shared our water.
