If you’ve ever wondered where all of Houston’s drinking water comes from, you should consider taking a trip to the Waterworks Education Center. Located near the western shore of Lake Houston, the Education Center is adjacent to one of the city’s three water purification plants.
Visitors aren’t allowed onto the grounds of the purification plants because of security concerns, but you can learn all about how our water is cleaned there as well as other fascinating facts. For instance, this plant is the smallest in the City of Houston, but it still cleans 70 million gallons of water per day! And did you know that there is only one natural lake in Texas? The rest are all man-made!
Visitors to the Center go first to an auditorium for a presentation that varies based on the age of the participants and the activity theme (water cycle, conservation, quality, treatment, or watersheds). This may be followed by a hands-on activity or a discussion of the concepts presented in the presentation.
There is also a scavenger hunt that the children complete as they walk through the display area of the building. For younger kids the scavenger hunt is comprised of pictures that the kids check off as they see and learn about the relevance of the particular items, and for older kids there is a fill-in-the-blank page they can complete.
The scavenger hunt starts off in the pipeline tunnel. The kids walking down the tunnel simulates how water flows through the real tunnel and they learn about the different stages and procedures the water goes through as it is cleaned. Then they emerge into another room filled with water facts. Everything from how much water is used in different areas of the home to facts about water-borne illnesses like E. Coli to how waterways get polluted by runoff from the roads is covered.
Did you know that less than 1% of the water on Earth is usable? The Waterworks Education Center is committed to teaching children (and adults!) how to conserve and preserve this very precious resource. To help further this cause they don’t charge any admission. Reservations are required though, and they do suggest a minimum of 15 people per group. School, scout, home school, and adult groups are all welcome. You can even get together a group of friends or neighbors for a visit! Go here to find out how to schedule your trip.
The Center isn’t hard to get to, but there are a couple of tricky turns (and your GPS may not give you the correct location), so be sure to check out these driving directions before you go. And don’t forget that every adult needs to show a driver’s license or other photo ID at the gate.
Contributed by Shanna
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