My Water Scrapbook!

Modeling Water Molecules

This is us on one of the first days of the water course.  We were learning how water molecules moved so we created a dance to demonstrate it.  We held our arms like molecules and then we connected to eachother and ran around the qym.  We also walked aroung very slowly.  We really got to see how water molecules move in a way that anyone can understand.

Testing pH of Our Pool

This is our class downstairs at the pool.  We were testing the pH of the water. This was done once a day and  the pH needed to stay the same all the time.  We were taught by a lifeguard thqat worked there.  She showed us how to do it and why.  She used a color meter to test the pH instead of the electronic probe.

Croton Aqueduct and Reservoir

This is a photo of part of the Croton Dam.  The Actual reservoir is on the upper right side and in the center is the water coming from the reservoir and into the flowing river/stream.  on this trip we learned about the dam and the reservoirs history, how it was made, and where it goes.  Then we went swimming in the rivver that came out of the reservoir. 

Enterococci

In this photo we were testing to see if there was any bacteria called Enterococci living in the Hudson River water.  It is a bacteria that lives in your intestents and it is let out into the actual world when you poop.  We were using microscopes and our eyes to count the number of colonies of Enterococci.

Newtown Creek

This here is a photo that was taken when we went on a trip to Newtown Creek the sewage treatment plant.  Here we got a tour, learned a few facts, went on a scavenger hunt, andwe also  tested the water.  It was very cool and interesting to be able to understand the process that our sewage goes through in order for it to be treated.  This process or what it goes through,  is kind of like the afterlife of a product or somthing because it is not used anymore.  The smell might of been revolting but it was worth it for the lessons that were learned.

52nd Street Playground

 This is a picture of the Water Course having some recreational fun time in Central Park.  We were at a playground and tons of sprinklers were on.  Some questions that came to my mind while I was there and while I was observing all of the fountains and sprinklers.  My questions were; How much water was being put to use in this park?  Think of how much they use.  Where does all of this water go after it is out in the open and then down the drain?  I was interesting in finding the answers to these questions because this water consumption and waste could be a large factor in our not conserving water.

The Pioneer

This photo here is a photo of the water cource pulling a rope in order to raise the sail. We were abord the Pioneer.  On this boat we learned about where we were, the kind of organisms that lived here and about how pollution was carried over land into bodies of water.

Fulton Street

In this photo here we were on Fulton Street.  There was a construction site and they were working on the water main pipe and the other pipes around it.  We learned about what theh workers did and why they were doing it.  We got to wear cool blue hard hats, and yellow protection jackets.  It was very interesting.

  Testing pH in Black Rock                          

In this photo we were testing the pH and conductivity of  the Hudson River.  We were testing it near Fairway
on 125th street.  We wanted to see the difference of pH in different places.  It is important to know the pH in a certain place because if the pH is not correct, only certain organisms can live there.  If the pH is to high or low, some organisms will die.  It must be just right.

Making Puppets

This is a photo of pod Poseidon making puppets with Professor Hill.  Our puppets were for the puppet show which is for public service anouncements.  All of our puppets are unique with faces and cool clothes. 

 Stone House

This is a demonstration of what we had to do while we were camping in order to get fresh water.  You nedded to push down the lever and then out came the water, into the bucket.  Then you needed to carry the bucket full of water back to the stone house.  It was very tireing but it showed what some people in other countries need to do in order to retrieve fresh water. 

Turtle Population Count

This here is a photo of Caroline (me) and Kyle setting up the turtle traps for the population study of teh painted turtles.  We placed food in these traps and then we left them to sit over night.  Turtles would enter the traps and then they would not be able to leave.  The next day we came back and there were seven turtles caught in 4 traps all together.  We learned about how to hold them, how to measure them and how to mark them down.

Water Molecules

From this experience,I learned that water molecules are cohesive. Cohesive means that they stick to each other. I also learned that some liquids are not cohesive but adhesive,which means that the molecules stick to each other and other liquids.

Acidic or Basic?

When we tested the pH of the pool water,we learned the scale of acidity,neutral, and base of the water which was 0-7 for acidity,7 for neutral(water and it is drinkable) and 7-14 for base. Acid means that the compounds have a sour taste and they react with bases and metals. Base is a compound that has a bitter taste and they react to acids.

Croton Dam and Aqueduct

At the Croton Dam,I learned that NYC gets 10% of it's water from here. The other 90% comes from the Catskills/Delaware Watershed. I also learned that the water from here travels to NYC for about 22 hours daily.

Waste,Waste,Waste

While we were sailing on a boat,one of the sailors created a model that helped us understand how water can be contaminated by the people surronding the body of water nearby and their vehicules/houses. This helped us understand that we have to be careful to not waste liquids so they won't contaminate our water supply.

Sewers and Pipes in the City

Here,the water course took a trip downtown to a construction site. I learned that the contruction workers had to work together with the people around the block because they want the job to be done and for the people to get water to use.

A Topographic Map

At Black Rock Forest,we learned about topographic maps and that they show you the shape of the land that it is representing. Also,it shows how tall the land is and how steep the land is.

Salamander in the Forest

On the second day at Black Rock Forest,we went to explore around the forest and we found a red salamander. We learned that the salamander wasn't used to it was in because it lives in moist places and the leaves weren't moist enough to survive in.We decided to take the salamander close to the water because we didn't want to let the salamander die.

Testing pH

While we were at Black Rock Forest,we tested the pH of the water from the pond and the reservoir nearby.We found out that the reservoir had a pH that was close to 7,which is okay because then it means that the water is safe to consume.

Trout Release

The water course took trout from the basement of our lodge so we could release them out of the tanks so they could get used to the environment that other trout are living in.We learned how to differ a male from a female.

Going Camping

Our pod,Evaporation Sensation,went camping on a Wednesday and we hiked all the way to the stonehouse,where a lot of people say they get scared.We had to set up our tents in a safe spot and we had to share a tent with a partner.

The Campfire

Here Evaporation Sensation's pod(Prof.Hill Pod)had a campfire in the stonehouse because it was raining outside and we were going to eat here.Here we learned a little about the history of the stonehouse and we learned how to work together so we could keep warm and have a good meal for dinner.

Water Skits

Here,each pod created a skit to show the importance of water.We learned how to create a play applying all of the spheres;Atmosphere,Geosphere,and Biosphere.Our pod created 1 song and 1 rap so we could send a message to people about water in our world and we practiced representing a water molecule.

In this picture the class was acting as water in a liqiud,solid, and gas form. We were learning about the molecules of water and the way they act based on the wheather it is in. If water is in a spot that is hot its molecules will move around really quickly so the molecules can't attach so they will turn into vapor. If water is in a spot that is cold it will move slowly allowing the molecules to attach and frease into a solid (ice).

While we were in Black Rock Forest we cought turtles and based on the amount we cought we could determine if there is a good population of turtles in the body of water.

In this picture I was testing the pH of the water. The water was

IN this picture as we started in the beging of the year trying to replicate water molecules. learning how the water molecules stick together. As we started learning.

As we went on in our year we learned how to replicat water molecules. in this picture we are trying to produce a wwater molecule using our bodies. this was helpful to get a good picture of what they really looked like instead of using marbles!

 Here we are learning how to test ph in a different way then using the probs. We are checking the ph of the pool to make sure it is safe for swimming. seeing if it nutrall, acidic, or .........( i forgot this one).

in this picture jonathan is testing the ph of this water manually. Without the kits we used. where it calculates it itself.

in this picture you can see the water mains from the stores on the side of these. They dug theseup to make sure they were fine and that they could get to it.

  here we are also testing it by hand but a different way. this is near a dam that when we went to there was no overflowing water. this way does not get the perfect answer but very close. using this one you can tell the ph by the color.

in this picture we have released trout into the water. there they will have to learn how to feed and take care of themselves are being babyed.

Here they are measuring a turtule so the can figure out th population and weather it is safe in these waters for the turtle and fish to swimm in. Then in a few years you can see if they have grown of died over time.

 Here we are doing one or our three things. this one is puppetry. when we are done with these we will make water public announcments ich will be shared with the whole school.

 This picture is showing when we did our water skits. These water skits were in out pod and they were trying to get poeple to use less water.

 We are mapping the water sheds around that part then we can see. Also when they need them then they can get them easily and find them.

 IN this picture we learned h essence of being friends and staying together. Also we learned what a little can really be a lot!

  Here, we were testing the pH at Harlem Meer and we were also testing the Conductivity of it. We all used the probes to test the capacity of it and we saw our resultts there. Most people got to have a chance testing this out and we learned that if the pH was lower than 7, it is an acid and if it's higher than 7 it is basic.

Here, we were looking at different samples of bacteria like Enterococci that could be found in water. We saw all of this throughout the microscopes in the Science Room. We also learned that Enterococci is mostly found after a day of RAIN. This was very fun!

    We had been in our class making models of the water molecules. We were modeling the part of and their polar and non-polar effects. We learned that water is polar so it can stick to other non-polar objects. The way we modeled is that we stuck together magnets to represent the way water always finds a way to stick back together.

In the day of the lesson about pH, we tested the pool's pH for an example for the lesson. The water was chlorinated, so we had to use special pH tools for the pool water. The water was neuteral, and we were all happy about it!

Since the lesson of pH came up, the inspiration was amazing! Now we are all curious to know what is the pH of all of New York City's body of water. So we all had a trip to the Harlem Mere and tested the pH. We used a transportable pH reader wich gave us all an idea of what is the Harlem Mere's pH.

On one very hot monday, we set out to go on a trip to the Croton Aquaduct, the aquaduct were we mostly get our water from. We took a little dip in the Croton River. The tours tought us about the time New York City was developing in their aquaduct.

Virus on the lose! This picture is us testing the the enterrococci in the Hudson River wich was created from the Hudson River water combined with overflow of sewage. We went to the Hudson river and took samples for every project group. We then saw the enterococci growing and oserved their colonies.

Who ever said you can't have fun while learning. As we were all having fun with water, we all had in mind is 'Were does this water come from?'.WHat a fun way with water!

All abored! Sailing on the Hudson river was a really a fun expierience. We were thought about how the Pioneer was used for. We also learned about sea water life. Then we all rotate to see the model of how bodys of water were affected when they were around towns or cities. We saw an improved model of waste, gas, and candy wraps all go into bodys of water and damage them.We all thanked the Pioneer crew, and I learned a new word,arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr mateys!

C-c-cold water is a good source for you in a hot day. In this day we came upon a little water park that lasted shorltly, but we all had fun while it lasted.

At this time we were modeling how watersheds were used, we made a simple, but understandable, model of a watershed. So since a watersheds are mountains that shed water into a river, the way we modeled was that we just covered rolled up newspaper with plastic bags and we sprayed water on it and we observed water getting shed down the modeled "mountains" and saw the sheded water form into a river.

In the trip week, our next trip was to the New York City sewage treatment plant. We saw elements from the plant that were really worth the trip. Continuing our inspirement of pH, we tested the sewage water and saw all the facts of how useful this sewage plant is.

At this time we took aa trip to the re-construction of the sewage water and our drinking water. The workers had to point out problems with how the strategy was used for us to seperate our freshwater and our wastewater. To learn we had to put on our helmets and vests.

We had lots of fun in Black Rock Forest, but my favorite part was seeing all the living things in streams and indicate if the water is good to use. The living things were called macro-invertabrates, and we caught them and identified them with our eyes and the identification sheet. After we caught the invertabrates, we let them live and let them go.

         Can you believe the adventure in this world! 

                                   My Water Scrapbook

In this picture we are working with magenetic marbles that is representing the water molecules. What we are doing here is showing how the magnetic marbles only stick to the magnetic board. This lesson here is showing how water can stick to certain things like it won't stick to wax paper but it would stick to a glass plate.

This picture is showing the people who went to the Croton Aqueduct swimming in the Croton Aqueduct. Not everybody got wet but the people who did enjoyed it. The water was one of the cleanest water we played in. the Aqueduct had rocks underneath so were not able to take off our shoes unless we are sitting on a rock and getting our feet wet.

This picture is showing Hannah, a student from banard, helping us collect water from the Hudson River to search for a bacteria called enterococci. This bacteria can be found in wter and can cause diseases. Hannah is a student from Banard college who is studying enterococci.

This picture is showing the girls, in the water course, posing under the sprinklers in the Water Park at Central Park. Every one got wet here(except the teachers) and everyone was happy because it was the dayof the heat wave.

This picture is showing an activity we did when we went aboard a boatcalled The Pioneer. This activity was showing how all the waste and nasty material us humans create gets into the bodies of water surrounding us when there is a storm or when it rains. Some of those nasty material were: dog poop(chocolate sprinkles), oil that leak from cars(soy sauce), and candy wrappers(salt).

This picture is showing another activity we did on the Pioneer. This activity was about us learning about the marine animals that were in the water that we sailed on. We saw a hermit crab, which had a small snail attached to its shell, a blue crab, which we released back into the water, a clam, and a small clam.

This picture is showing us hgetting wet in battery park. There was also a snad slide that was really long. The sprinklers were all different sizes from big to small to medium. It was really fum and really short.

This picture was taken when we were at the construction site. Construction workers were talking to us about the water main pipe that they were going to buil. Also they were talking to us about the different pipes underground and what they had to watch out for.

In this picture we are in Black Rock Forest making puppets for our puppet show. We took newspaper and made it into the structure we wanted it to be. After that we took newspaper and put it into paper mashae and put that over the newspaper structure. Then we took paper bags and put that in paper mashae and put it on the puppet structure. Finally, when the paper mashae dried, we painted our puppets. Everyone's puppet was different. Even Prof. Hill's puppets.

This picture is showing a group preforming their skits about water. These skits were done on the porch at the cabin that we stayed in at Black Rock Forest.The skits had to be related to what we have done in our classes and in our experiments we have done.

This picture is showing some kids splashing in the pond to catch macro-invertebrates.We wanted to know if the water quality was good by seeing how many critters there are in the water.

This picture is sjowing some student taking some invertebrates and putting them in water so we could count them. Our goal was to get at least 100 of them because 100 meant that the water quality was very good and that certain animals could live there.

Construction Site-On this day we learned how most people in NYC get their water threw  the water pipes  and how it traveled to the certain  pipes and tunnels.We also learned what would happen if one of the pipes burst with all of the gas in it,if this happened then all of that part of NYC would explode.

Not DONE YET DONT GRADE PLEASDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 1. Water Dance

Here we had to hold our arms out at about 105 degrees to mode water molecules.  Then we had to connect to different people at this angle.  Directed by Professor Hill and Professor Stillman.

2. Testing Pool Water with Joanna

In this picture lifeguard Joanna is testing pool water with a pH kit.  Joanna was showing us how to tell wether or not the pool water was good or not so good.  She also showed us how to test the chlorine.

3. Testing pH Levels

Here we are in the park at 110th st. testing the pH levels of the water.  We were using the probes that did and didn't hook up into the computer.  We were trying to see wether or not the pond was neutral or close to neutral.

4. Croton Aqueduct

Here we are at the croton aqueduct.  We were looking at where the water is when it travels through the aqueduct.  They told us that there are sometimes bats there.

5. Enterococci 

At this moment of time we were looking at how many enterococci there were before and after a rainstorm.  We did this with professor Hill's friend Hannah.  We were told to count how many there were in each jar.

6. Sprinklers

In this picture they are playing in h2o.  I was not there so I do not know much about this trip.

7. Wildlife

Here we were on a sailboat learning about water maps, making diagrams, and the wildlife in New York harbor.  In this particular picture a kid is holding a clam.  There were also hermit crabs.

8. Sprinklers

In this picture we were playing in some sprinklers in battery park.  We were only there because we had time to kill.  While we were there we enjoyed our selves.

9. Making a watershed

We were down by battery park learning about watersheds.  We got to see a slide show about them and then make our own.  A watershed is an area of land where water flows off the land into a lake, river, or stream.

10. Sewage system

Here we were on a field trip to the sewage system.  We basically saw the outside only because weren't allowed to go inside.  They made this a law after 9/11. 

11. Fulton Street

Here we are at a construction site.  They were teaching us the different jobs of the construction team and how they build.  They also told us that the gas pipe is the first thing you turn off.

12. Black Rock Forest

Here we were doing a lot of things.  My favorite part was seeing these teeny tiny turtles.  What we were doing is seeing how many turtles there are.  So what we did was we measured them, saw their sex and look to see if they were new finds. 

This day we went on deck. The boat we were on was a 200 year old steel sail boat. The captians name was Magno. On the boat we learned about all different animal in the hudson river. We also learned how to map and read nautical charts and how the polution can effect estiuaries like the New York Harbour.