Activities and Experiments for Home or School

Did you know that on average Boston, Massachusetts has 43 inches of rain a year and 49 inches of snow? What does that mean in terms of liquid water? Does one inch of snow equal one inch of liquid water? Let’s find out.

What you will need:

• A clear container – plastic or glass
• Two colors of crayon or dry erase markers
• Snow

Directions:

1. Use an empty clear container to scoop snow from the backyard. Try to fill it to the top without packing it down.
2. Use one color of dry erase marker or crayon to draw a line predicting where you think the water line will be when all the snow has melted. If more than one person is participating, write your name next to your prediction line.
3. Leave the container in a warm place and check on it every hour. Use the second color of dry eraser or crayon to mark the new level of snow on the back side of the cup each time you check.

What is a greenway?

When NRWA talks about greenways, it is referring to the land alongside our rivers and streams. Healthy greenways, with plants and trees, give us oxygen and provide wildlife with food and shelter. These plants and trees also help to protect clean water in our rivers, streams and ponds.

This activity will show you how!

What you will need:

• Six empty plastic bottles and their caps
• A foil roasting tray
• String or yarn
• Dirt
• Small rocks
• Shredded leaves
• Two small house plants or weeds from your yard (keep the roots and surrounding dirt intact)

Directions:

1. Using only 3 of the bottles, carefully cut out a long rectangle from one side of each bottle. See top row of bottles in the image.  Keep the caps on these bottles. We’ll call these bottles Set A.
2. Fill one bottle from Set A with soil and rocks. Fill a second with a mix of soil, rocks, and shredded leaves. Fill the third by placing two house plants, seedlings, or weeds from your yard in the bottle and surround the root balls with soil. Put the Set A bottles aside.
3. Take the remaining 3 bottles and cut the bottom 4 inches off. See the bottom row of bottles in the image.  We’ll call these bottles Set B.
4. Using the Set B bottles, take a hole punch and make a hole one inch from the top of the cut edge. Make another hole one inch from the top on the opposite side of the cut edge of the bottle. Thread some string or yarn through the holes and make a loop. Cut the thread and tie the two ends together. See the bottom row of the bottles in the image. Put the Set B bottles aside.
5. Place the roasting tray on a raised flat surface. Lay the Set A bottles side by side in the tray with the bottom end raised on the side of the tray. Cut a narrow slot in the tray for the neck of the bottle (just below the cap) to rest in. This should place the bottles in a tilted position. See top row of bottles in the image.
6. Using the Set B bottles, place them on a flat surface below the level of the Set A bottles.  Line up each Set B bottle below the cap of a Set A bottle. Drape the Set B bottle string loop over the neck of the Set B bottle immediately above it.
7. Pour one cup of water into each Set A bottle and observe what happens. One at a time, remove the cap on the Set A bottle and observe what happens.

Wetlands were once thought of as wasted land that needed to be drained and put to use. Now we understand that wetlands protect our communities from flooding. Not only do wetlands absorb and store rainwater in heavy storms, they also provide rich habitat for insects, birds, and aquatic mammals like muskrat and mink.

Let’s explore how wetlands work!

What you will need:

• Three small containers, one should have a lid
• A piece of cling wrap
• Two small damp dish sponges
• One dish sponge cut into strips
• A large dishpan or cookie sheet to catch water

Directions:

PART 1

1. Place the three containers on the dishpan.
2. Put the lid on top of one container. This closed container represents the hard surface of a parking lot.
3. Stretch the cling wrap over a second container, using a rubber band to hold the wrap in place. Use a sharp pencil or a toothpick to make holes in the cling wrap. This container with holes in the wrap represents a gravel driveway or playground.
4. Put two layers of damp dish sponges into the third container. This represents your wetland. 
5. Pour one cup of water into the “wetland” and let it sit. Pour one cup of water onto the container with the lid, ”parking lot” and one cup onto the container with the cling wrap “driveway”. 
6. Observe what happens to the water

Wetlands, and the plants that grow within them, are able to hold onto, or at least slow, water. They are nature’s sponges and we can learn from them as we design our homes and cities.

PART 2

1. Empty the water from the dishpan or tray.
2. Dry the tops of your “parking lot” lidded container.
3. Empty the water from and dry the clinge wrap top of your “gravel driveway’  container.
4. Lay the strips of sponge you cut beside the edges of the “driveway” and “parking lot” containers.
5. Pour one cup of water onto each container.
6. Observe what happens to the water.

Engineers use real life features like bioswales and rain gardens on the edges of parking lots and roads to absorb rainwater that runs off the hard surfaces which can help reduce flooding in our neighborhoods and communities. This is one example of a Nature-based Solution, using nature to solve a problem to make our communities safer and healthier.