You and your students can explore the world of water by requesting a free presentation or field trip with City educational outreach staff. Your students can participate in hands-on activities and go on tours that allow them to discover how water is treated, protected, and used.

Pick a Presentation

You can choose from the following list of presentations about water. As part of most presentations, City staff will facilitate a hands-on activity and provide all of the needed materials. You can help tailor the presentation to match your class’s needs.

Clean Water Challenge
This challenge helps students learn about how humans influence water quality and how Salem processes its drinking water. Using simple materials, students work in groups to diagram and construct a water filter. They then test the effectiveness of their filters on “contaminated” water.

Critters in the Creek
Your students will explore the hidden world of stream life by learning about tiny wildlife in nearby creeks. They will see a slide show and demonstration that will start them on the road to becoming “bugologists.” City staff can loan you sampling equipment or work with you on a sampling field trip. This presentation is available for grades 2–12.

Take the WE Pledge
The Watershed Enhancement (WE) Pledge program shows your students how a few changes in their daily life can help protect the watershed. Using a watershed model, your students will learn how people influence water pollution. They will be given pledge cards with examples of actions they can take to protect our streams. This presentation is available for grades 3–12.

Make a Water Cycle Wrist Band
This activity will teach your students about earth’s water cycle from the atmosphere, down to earth’s surface, through plants and animals, and back to the atmosphere. Moving through stations around the classroom, students will learn about features of this cycle while creating a beaded wrist band that documents their path. Each portion of the water cycle is represented by a different color bead. Every student’s path will be different, so each wrist band will be unique. An online version of this activity is available on Project WET’s DiscoverWater website.

Salem Water Resources
Your students will learn about the ways water—drinking water, wastewater, or streams—are treated or protected in Salem. They will also discover how they can help reduce water pollution. This presentation can add to your class's discussions about water, pollution, or endangered salmon. It is available for grades 3-12.

Drop in the Bucket
This activity demonstrates how little drinking water there is on Earth. Your students will use their understanding of ratios to measure the relative amounts of fresh and salt water. They will discuss how people can protect and conserve drinking water, and they will hear how environmental scientists and engineers work to understand and solve problems.

Watershed Topics
City staff can talk to your class about many water-related topics. Examples include water pollution, wastewater treatment, drinking water treatment, and tree conservation. These presentations are available for grades 2–12.

Pick a Field Trip

You can choose from the following two field trips. They are available for grades 4–12.

• Geren Island Drinking Water Treatment Facility in Stayton: Visit the site where the City of Salem gets its drinking water.
• Willow Lake Water Pollution Control Facility in Keizer: Discover how wastewater is changed from dirty to clean water.

If your class is going on a field trip, you are responsible for arranging and paying for transportation for your class.

Request Your Presentation

Send an email to the outreach contact with the following information:

• Name of main contact and school
• Name of the presentation
• Day of the week you prefer, month, and the approximate dates that will work best
• Time preference (specify a.m. or p.m.)
• Indicate how many classrooms need to be scheduled
• Provide school start and end times
• Provide lunch time
• Provide all pullouts

After your request has been processed, you will receive a confirmation email with a list of supplies that your class will need the day of the presentation or field trip.

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