2017 Activities Activity Outlines ACTIVITY #1 H2O PUPPET SHOW - 30 MINUTE PUPPET SHOW Come watch as our furry friends from the Hamilton Harbour get together to put on a very entertaining, interactive, family friendly show. Join in the fun as the zany cast of characters sing and dance to original songs that they have written themselves. Great music, great puppets and a great message make this show a must see event. Drop by, grab a seat and let us entertain you! Lead Organization: City of Hamilton - Public Works - Customer Service & Community Outreach Curriculum Links: Understanding Life Systems: Habitats and Communities & Canada and World Connections Canada’s Provinces, Territories, and Regions
ACTIVITY #2 MICRO SAFARI: LIFE IN A DROP OF WATER Students will use a variety of microscopes to explore the world of living things that exist in a drop of water. Water is the one thing that is essential to all life as we know it. We are familiar with water in rivers, lakes and oceans; in pools, bathtubs and drinking glasses, but what about a drop of water? What is going on in a drop of pond water? Students will use a variety of microscopes to explore the world of living things that exist in a drop of water. Lead Organization: Royal Botanical Gardens Curriculum Links: Understanding Life Systems: Habitats and Communities
ACTIVITY #3 SHORELINE “SHORE” & TELL The Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup is a national program, providing all Canadians the opportunity to make a difference in their local communities. In this activity, students will engage in an interactive discussion and game surrounding issues concerning our shorelines such as sources and impacts of shoreline litter on wildlife and people. Lead Organization: Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup Curriculum Links: Understanding Life Systems: Habitats and Communities
ACTIVITY #4 HOT POTATO HAND WASH In this activity students will learn the importance of hand washing in preventing the spread of infection. They will also learn the proper technique of hand washing through the use of glitter bug lotion and a series of fun activities! Lead Organization: City of Hamilton - Public Health Services Curriculum Links: Healthy Living - Personal Safety and Injury Prevention & Healthy Living - Human Development
2017 Activities Activity Outlines - continued ACTIVITY #5 WHEEL OF KNOWLEDGE This activity, which combines elements of a TV game show, is designed to test the knowledge of the students on environmental matters through fun trivia questions. A player can be selected from the group or audience to come up to the wheel and give it a spin. They will be asked a question according to the topic the wheel stopped on. Lead Organization: Hamilton Conservation Authority Curriculum Links: Understanding Life Systems: Habitats and Communities & Canada and World Connections Canada’s Provinces, Territories, and Regions
ACTIVITY #6 WATER, WATER, EVERYWHERE In this activity the Grade 4 students will engage in a short discussion on how the world’s water is divided up on our planet. They will take a look at exactly how much fresh water is available to use through a water collection game. Students will identify sources of water and why it’s important to conserve and protect our natural bodies of water from pollution. Lead Organization: Green Venture Curriculum Links: Understanding Life Systems: Habitats and Communities & Canada and World Connections Canada’s Provinces, Territories, and Regions
ACTIVITY #7 RAIN GARDEN RELAY In this activity, students will learn about stormwater and how it can negatively impact our environment and our health. They will learn about rain gardens as a way to capture stormwater and reduce stormwater runoff. Students will take part in a relay race to demonstrate how permeable surfaces are better at capturing stormwater and thus improving water quality. Lead Organization: Bay Area Restoration Council Curriculum Links: Understanding Life Systems: Habitats and Communities
ACTIVITY #8 GETTING BACK TO OUR ROOTS In this activity each student will learn about why trees are important, water conservation related to tree planting, nursery production and storage. Each student will plant a bare root tree in a fibre pot and will learn to take care of the tree. Each student will take their tree home or back to class to nurture and care for. Lead Organization: City of Hamilton - Public Works - Forestry Curriculum Links: Understanding Life Systems: Habitats and Communities
2017 Activities Activity Outlines - continued ACTIVITY #9 THE FOOD CHAIN GAME Students will participate in an active game to learn how contaminants in the water can move up the food chain, eventually accumulating in some fish, at levels that might pose a health risk to humans who consume them. The activity will introduce the concept of biomagnification by having the students assume the role of algae, insects or fish that live in Hamilton Harbour. Discussion topics will include the importance of keeping lakes and rivers clean and how to determine whether sport fish caught in the Harbour are safe to eat. Lead Organization: Ontario Ministry of the Environment & Climate Change(OMOECC) Curriculum Links: Understanding Life Systems: Habitats and Communities & Canada and World Connections Canada’s Provinces, Territories, and Regions & Healthy Living - Healthy Eating
ACTIVITY #10
THE FILTRATION STATION This activity will teach students the importance of wastewater treatment, how it is treated using filtration, and the value of ArcelorMittal Dofasco’s wastewater treatment process. The filtration plants are a large component in ensuring the water is adequate not only for the purposes of the plant, but also for the harbour. The students will participate in a water filtration activity where they will have the opportunity to make their own wastewater and treat it. Lead Organization: ArcelorMittal Dofasco Canada Curriculum Links: Understanding Life Systems: Habitats and Communities & Canada and World Connections Canada’s Provinces, Territories, and Regions
ACTIVITY #11 WHO LIVES WHERE? - 30 MINUTE ACTIVITY This activity deals with the different types of wetland habitats. Students will discover the many different types of wetlands, their unique characteristics and their different inhabitants by playing a match game. Lead Organization: Hamilton Industrial Environmental Association Curriculum Links: Understanding Life Systems: Habitats and Communities
ACTIVITY #12 SAFETY & THE SEA! (WIND, WATER AND… PIRATES) Children will be introduced to the different parts of a sailboat, discuss water safety and participate in a fun pirate themed game! Lead Organization: Royal Hamilton Yacht Club Curriculum Links: Understanding Life Systems: Habitats and Communities & Canada and World Connections Canada’s Provinces, Territories, and Regions
2017 Activities Activity Outlines - continued ACTIVITY #13 WATER TREATMENT PLANT A working model of a drinking (potable) water treatment plant process illustrates the chemical and physical principles in water treatment. The water treatment plant receives raw water from lakes, rivers or ground water. The raw water goes through a screening and sedimentation process before the water is filtered through sand filters. Chlorine may be added in one or more places along the treatment train to provide enough time for chlorine to destroy pathogens in the water. The treated water is then pumped from the treatment plant throughout the City using pipes, pumps, and water reservoirs to Hamilton homes. Lead Organization: City of Hamilton – Hamilton Water - Plant Operations Curriculum Links: Understanding Life Systems: Habitats and Communities & Canada and World Connections Canada’s Provinces, Territories, and Regions
ACTIVITY #14 A DROP IN THE BUCKET Even if the Earth is covered mainly by water, only a small amount is available for human consumption. This demonstration will illustrate the distribution of freshwater resources versus salt water and the actual amount of available freshwater in the world. Through a quantitative demonstration students will visualize that water is a limited resource. Lead Organization: City of Hamilton, Hamilton Water, Source Water Planning Curriculum Links: Understanding Life Systems: Habitats and Communities
ACTIVITY #15 OSPREY SURVIVOR Students will investigate how Osprey (also known as seahawk, fish hawk or fish eagle), a fish-eating bird of prey, feed themselves and their young. Students will also find out how pollutants affect Osprey and how they can help keep the Osprey’s food source pollutant free. Teams try to ‘catch’ as many fish by putting on the wings and running to the ‘pond’, returning with a fish to the ‘nest’ within the required time. Upon their return and when all fish are gone, each team will calculate the healthiness of their catch based on the quality of fish they have caught. Lead Organization: Hamilton Naturalists’ Club Curriculum Links: Fundamental Movement Skills - Locomotion/Travelling Skills
ACTIVITY #16 TOILET TALK This activity will educate students on the impact they have on the City’s sewer system and inevitably, Hamilton’s Harbour. Students will learn about the connection between their actions at home and how they affect the water in the harbour. We will review what is allowed and not allowed to be flushed down the toilet or poured down a household drain. Lead Organization: City of Hamilton - Public Works - CS&CO Curriculum Links: Understanding Life Systems: Habitats and Communities
2017 Activities Activity Outlines - continued ACTIVITY #17 NEATO DEETO NO MORE MOSQUITO West Nile Virus – A virus found in wild birds and carried by mosquitoes. When a person is infected, the virus can make them sick. Students will be able to view the life cycle of a mosquito with actual or models of egg rafts, larvae, pupae, and adult mosquitoes in clear containers. Students will also learn the importance of personal protection by wearing long light coloured clothing and bug repellent. Lead Organization: City of Hamilton, Public Health Services Curriculum Links: Healthy Living - Personal Safety and Injury Prevention & Understanding Life Systems: Habitats and Communities
ACTIVITY #18 PUT WASTE IN THE RIGHT PLACE Children will have the opportunity to become Waste Champions by learning where every day items that they see at home and in school should be placed for disposal after they have been used! Through an interactive game the students will be able to put their new found knowledge to the test and see if they really know how to sort their waste into the proper bins. Lead Organization: City of Hamilton - Public Works - Corporate Assets & Strategic Planning Curriculum Links: Understanding Life Systems: Habitats and Communities
ACTIVITY #19 HIGHWAY H20 AND THE PORT OF HAMILTON In this activity the students will learn the importance of the waterways for the shipping industry. The shipping industry relies on our waterways to move raw and completed goods to the manufacturers and communities that require them. By using ships we can take many more trucks off our roads therefore helping to limit the environmental impact of busy highways, increased transport truck traffic and increased greenhouse gas emissions. Lead Organization: Hamilton Port Authority Curriculum Links: Understanding Structures and Mechanisms: Pulley and Gears & Understanding Life Systems: Habitats and Communities & Canada and World Connections - Canada’s Provinces, Territories, and Regions
ACTIVITY #20 WHERE DOES THE WATER GO WHEN IT GOES DOWN THE DRAIN? We flush our toilet and put water down the drain and never think of where it goes. What would happen if everything we flushed down the toilet went directly into the lake? Once you flush the toilet the water and sewage go through the sewer lines under the streets to the treatment plant. Here, it is processed and cleaned. A model of a wastewater treatment plant shows the treatment processes on the sewage and the solids collected in the process. Lead Organization: City of Hamilton - Public Works – Hamilton Water - Plant Operations Curriculum Links: Understanding Structures and Mechanisms: pulley and gears & Understanding Life Systems: Habitats and Communities
2017 Activities Activity Outlines - continued ACTIVITY #21 TRIP OF A DRIP - 30 MINUTE ACTIVITY The Hamilton Museum of Steam and Technology is home to Hamilton’s first Waterworks built in 1859. Before water was pumped to people’s homes the citizens of Hamilton relied on well water located around the city. The problem was this water was polluted. This activity takes children back in time by allowing them to learn about water, waterborne diseases and how clean water is pumped from Lake Ontario to their homes. Lead Organization: The Hamilton Museum of Steam and Technology Curriculum Links: Understanding Life Systems: Habitats and Communities & Canada and World Connections Canada’s Provinces, Territories, and Regions Fundamental Movement Skills - Locomotion/Travelling Skills
ACTIVITY #22 A FISH TALE This activity is designed to educate students about fish movement in streams through a fun obstacle course. Students will race through the obstacle course where they will encounter barriers to movement and will use fish behaviours and characteristics to overcome the obstacles. Lead Organization: Hamilton Conservation Authority Curriculum Links: Understanding Life Systems: Habitats and Communities
ACTIVITY #23 pHISH RACE Students will learn what pH is, how it is linked to pollution and that it affects aquatic habitats. They will be challenged to think of ways in which humans directly influence a pH change in aquatic habitats. Students will learn how to check pH and determine the pH of some water samples. Lead Organization: City of Hamilton – Hamilton Water - Environmental Lab Curriculum Links: Understanding Life Systems: Habitats and Communities & Mathematics - Number Sense and Numeration
ACTIVITY #24 DOWN THE DRAIN: LEARN HOW TO CONSERVE WATER Students will learn that clean water is a precious resource and consider how they waste clean water every day. This will be illustrated by an interactive hand washing activity. After this discussion we hope students will begin to appreciate the importance of conserving water to sustain the Earth’s freshwater supply. Lead Organization: Blue Dot Movement Curriculum Links: Understanding Life Systems: Habitats and Communities & Healthy Living - Human Development
2017 Activities Activity Outlines - continued ACTIVITY #25 WATER DISTRIBUTION & WASTEWATER COLLECTION This model will demonstrate to the students what a typical municipal water distribution system layout looks like. With the model pressurized, the students will see how the pressure in the buildings is affected by fire fighting and breaks in the system. They will see how the service pressure drops as the level drops in the water tower. Also, they may see how the tower will help supply the system if the pump(s) cannot meet an increase in demand. The demonstration will also help to make the students aware of water conservation. More demand on the system by the users, increases the need to produce more water. This has both an environmental and financial impact on the city. Lead Organization: City of Hamilton - Hamilton Water - Water Distribution and Wastewater Collection Curriculum Links: Understanding Life Systems: Habitats and Communities & Understanding Structures and Mechanisms: Pulleys and Gears
ACTIVITY #26 WATER MAIN BREAK In this activity, students will learn and understand how their drinking water gets from the Water Treatment Plant to their faucet or toilet. With sections of actual water main, with valves, shut offs and fire hydrants, students will be able to respect the enormous infrastructure that Hamilton has underground and goes unnoticed. The students will be able to see what a water main break looks like and will experience and help fix the water main as the City of Hamilton employees do. Lead Organization: City of Hamilton – Hamilton Water – Water Distribution & Wastewater Collection Curriculum Links: Understanding Structures and Mechanisms: Pulleys and Gears & Understanding Life Systems: Habitats and Communities
ACTIVITY #27 WATERFRONT TROLLEY RIDE This activity will take the class on a tour of Bayfront Park. A member from the Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program will provide commentary that will educate students on life in the harbour. This activity will allow students the chance to see the revitalization that has taken place along the waterfront. Lead Organization: Hamilton Waterfront Trust Curriculum Links: Understanding Life Systems: Habitats and Communities
ACTIVITY #28 UNBOTTLE IT Students will engage in a short discussion on where water comes from and why we use bottled water. Students will be separated into two teams: plastic water bottle versus reusable water bottle. Through a water bottle race, students will learn the benefits of drinking tap water and the negative impact of using plastic water bottles. Lead Organization: Green Venture Curriculum Links: Understanding Life Systems: Habitats and Communities & Canada and World Connection: Canada’s Provinces, Territories and Regions
2017 Activities Activity Outlines - continued ACTIVITY #29 CLEAN BODIES. CLEAN WATER? Students will consider the effects of the conventional body care products they use everyday (shampoo, hand cream, hand sanitizer) that get washed down the sink or bath tub. These products can be harmful if they get back into our ground water. Students will predict a product’s pH level, from more neutral to acidic, then choose from the selection of products available to test their pH levels. They will learn about alternative products (that could be used to keep ourselves, and our environment, cleaner and safer. Lead Organization: Hamilton-Wentworth Elementary Teachers’ Local Curriculum Links: Understanding Life Systems: Habitats and Humanities
ACTIVITY #30 ONLY RAIN DOWN THE DRAIN - CATCH BASINS LEAD TO THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT Students will learn that a catch basin leads to the natural environment and only rain water or snow can go into a catch basin. We will discuss what happens when common household products are disposed of in the incorrect location. This could lead to pollution our water and have effect on our fish and plant life. For example, paints cleaners, gasoline cannot go to a catch basin and should be taken to a Community Recycling Centre. Lead Organization: City of Hamilton - Public Works – Hamilton Water - Compliance and Regulation Curriculum Links: Understanding Life Systems: Habitats and Communities & Healthy Living - Personal Safety and Injury Prevention
