FAQs and Other Resources

How long is the Water Festival fieldtrip?
- You and your students will participate in activities for about 2 hours spending your time rotating between 4 different hands-on activities. But we appreciate you arriving there 10-15 minutes early so that we can get you organized before your start time.
Will my students get wet?
- We will be using water at most of the activities, and so if someone spills a cup or pitcher of water, then yes your students could get a little wet. However, we will not be having a water balloon fight or running through sprinklers, etc., or doing any activities where we foresee students getting substantially wet. If you are attending the Apache Junction Festival there may be an exception, so please reach out to your coordinator in this case.
What does a Water Festival Fieldtrip look like?
- Usually a Water Festival Fieldtrip is held at a community park or in the field at an elementary school. Arizona Project WET staff and community volunteers arrive several hours in advance to set up EZ-up canopies (wind permitting) and educational hands-on materials at each station. Each festival is unique and can differ in size, but we can handle up to 16 classes at a time in one session and 32 classes in a day with a double session. The field will be set up in color areas and you and your class will stay together in that color area and then rotate through 4 different activities (spending 25-30 minutes at each station). Once you unload off the bus and make your way to the field, APW staff will organize the schools/classes and direct you as to where to start your water fun. The stations each have their own focus (groundwater, watershed, water cycle and sustainability) and you can assist the volunteers with classroom management and making sure your students stay together. Once you have completed all 4 stations you will head back to your bus and depart to your campus. If you have questions about lunch please see below. You can also view our photo gallery below to see day-of fun!
What should my students and I wear or bring to the Water Festival fieldtrip?
- We encourage teachers, students and chaperons to wear comfortable clothes and to dress in layers. It can often be cold in the morning and then get warm later on in the day. Ideally students should wear shoes they can run in, and we encourage everyone to bring a hat and a reusable water bottle. Please have students bring jackets if it is cold.
Will my students get lunch while they are there?
- Arizona Project WET does not provide food for the students as there are too many liabilities. Depending on which festival you are attending, and what time your fieldtrip is planned for, you may be able to arrange to come a little early or stay a little later to eat packed lunches at the park that your school brings with you. If you are worried about lunch due to your schedule, please reach out to your Water Festival Coordinator so they can assist you, otherwise we recommend eating either before you leave campus or once you return to campus. We will have water available for students, but again no food for safety reasons.
What do I need to do before my class comes to the Water Festival fieldtrip?
- One of the most important things that we appreciate you doing before you come to the event is having all of your students complete the pre-student survey (select yours here). We then kindly ask that you complete the post-student survey once you are finished with the unit of study so that we show knowledge gain so we can continue to receive funding to support this program. We also appreciate you having your students fill out the media release forms and bringing those with you (with the corresponding student name tags - red or green) so that we know who we can take pictures of during the day. If you are new to the program, we highly recommend that you attend our online teacher professional development workshops (you can sign-up here) so that we can share resources, lessons and information with you in regards to the unit of study. We would also love if you could complete the first three lessons from the Water Festival Program Unit of Study before you come to the fieldtrip so that your students will be more prepared to soak up all the educational water fun that we will be doing with them at the event.
What if I did not have time to do all of the lessons before the fieldtrip, can my class still come?
- Yes, we want to have as many students participate as possible and know that your schedules are busy. However, we highly recommend doing at least a few of the lessons ahead of time (ideally the first 3) as this will introduce your students to important concepts and background information that will make the activities we do with the students more engaging and meaningful. They will have fun and learn either way, but we truly appreciate you also utilizing the lessons in the classroom.