As part of the Stop drought! project, State Water Holding Polish Waters organised a contest for school-age children and youths, entitled “How do you save water?”. We received several hundred videos, stories and original ideas. The first place among primary schools, selected by a jury, went to a video prepared by children from Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński Primary School no. 42 in Lublin.
Zosia, Antek, Zuzia and Jasiek showed us a day in the life of Mr. Przemek, a LEGO minifigure who is trying to save water. The animation was created from photos and reminds us to turn the tap off while we brush our teeth, opt for a shower rather than a bath or collect rainwater to water our flowers.
The jury decided that the authors of this video deserved the first prize: a trip to Hydropolis in Wrocław. Due to the pandemic, the trip had to be rescheduled from April 2020 to the first available date. Last week (23-24 September 2020), Jasiek, Antek, Zuzia and Zosia travelled from Lublin to Wrocław to visit a unique water knowledge centre, located in a nineteenth-century underground water reservoir.
Their adventure started with the workshop “Fresh water, salt water”. They felt like real chemists coming up with new formulas. Wearing gloves and masks and sitting at special tables, they learnt how to make a lava lamp using oil, water and an effervescent tablet. They also experimented with “sparkling water” prepared by mixing water, citric acid, soda and washing-up liquid. The spectacular eruption of white foam really surprised these young people.
After the experiments, it was time for a tour around Hydropolis. Their guide, Wojtek, showed the children some secrets of the underwater world. They got to know the history of the bathyscaphe, fish that look terrible but which are perfectly adjusted to living in dark ocean depths and fun facts about the menu of tiger sharks.
This 90-minute trip to the depths of the ocean and the bottom of the water tanks ended with a visit to an exhibition entitled “Leak”, which listed the good practices for saving water. It turned out that our winners already knew them very well.
On the trip back home, their minds were still on Hydropolis. They talked about what they liked and learnt (“Who would have thought that to make 1 bar of chocolate you need… 17 thousand litres of water?”J). They also liked the interactive maps, such as a map of Wrocław which illustrated the consequences of the 1997 Central European flood (see photo).
“Water is too precious to be wasted” is the motto of the winning team. Each student had these words printed on their t-shirt. They knew a lot about saving water and during their trip to Hydropolis they got to know even more. The young generation is undoubtedly environmentally conscious and takes care of water, air and nature.
