You're sitting in a watershed now
Homes, farms, ranches, forests, small towns, big cities and more can make up watersheds. Some cross county, state, and even international borders. Watersheds come in all shapes and sizes. Some are millions of square miles, others are just a few acres. Just as creeks drain into rivers, watersheds are nearly always part of a larger watershed. 

Videos
What is a Watershed
Everyone Impacts a Watershed
Potential Sources of Pollution

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Sent in by:
Mary-Elizabeth of Tallassee, AL

These little guys can groove!

Materials Needed

       tall clear glass

       raisins

       club soda that has a lot of bubbles (This won't work if the club soda is flat.)

Instructions

1.       First, pour the club soda in the glass.

2.       Next, drop in half of a raisin.

3.       Wait at least 20 to 30 seconds and watch what happens to the raisin. (The raisin should rise and fall.)

4.       The reason why the raisin floats to the top is because the bubbles stick to the sides of the raisin and make the raisin more buoyant. Buoyant means that something floats more easily. The bubbles make the raisin float the way a life jacket makes a person float.

Now, start to experiment. Think of a question that you'd like to answer. Like, "Can I get something that is heavier than a popcorn kernel to float using bubbles? Will a walnut or a super ball float?" Make a prediction, test it out, and share your results in the ZOOMsci feedback area.

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Sent in by:
Mammy of Los Angeles, CA

Can you survive on just saltwater and sun?

Materials Needed

       large bowl

       short glass or cup

       tape

       plastic wrap

       small rock

       pitcher of water

       salt

       long spoon for stirring

Instructions

1.       Check with a grown-up before you get started.

2.       On a deserted island, there's ocean water all around you - but you can't drink any because it's too salty. Here's how to turn saltwater into fresh water using the sun (and gravity.)

3.       First make saltwater by adding salt to fresh water. Stir the water until the salt dissolves.

4.       Now pour about two inches of saltwater in a large bowl.

5.       Take an empty glass and put it in the bowl. The top of the glass should be shorter than the top of the bowl, but higher than the saltwater.

6.       Put plastic wrap over the top of the bowl. You may need to use tape to make sure the seal is tight.

7.       The last step is to put something heavy right in the center of the plastic wrap, over the empty glass. That will weigh the plastic down and help you collect the water. Now you've made a solar still. It's called a still because it distills, or purifies, water.

8.       Leave your still outside in the sun. Leave it alone for a few hours, or even a whole day. The longer you leave it out, the more water you'll collect.

9.       When you're ready to check your still, take the plastic wrap off and look at the water that's collected in the cup. Do you think it's salty or fresh? Taste it, or use a saltwater tester to find out!

Ready for the sci scoop on how distillation works? Rays from the sun heat up the salty water in the bowl. When the water gets warm, it evaporates and becomes a gas. When the gas rises and hits the plastic wrap, it turns back into water droplets. Eventually, gravity makes the water droplets roll down the plastic wrap towards the rock. Then the water droplets slide off the plastic wrap into the glass. The salt doesn't evaporate, so it gets left behind in the bowl. Water evaporates in the same way from lakes, rivers, and oceans. The water heats up, turns into a gas, and then condenses to fall back down as rain.

See if you can distill fresh water from other liquids like cola, orange juice or even applesauce. Test it out, and send your results to ZOOM!

your results

Sent in by:
Alicia of Sheffield, AL

Water highway: sticky when wet.

Materials Needed

       plastic cups

       white cloth string

       pitcher of water

       measuring tape

       scissors

       large measuring cups

       fishing line

       thick clothesline

       twine

       thread

       yarn

Instructions

1.       Check with a grown-up before you begin. Things can get pretty wet with this activity.

2.       Try to pour one cup of water into another cup while keeping the cups two feet apart. The only materials you can use are two cups and a length of string. Use the measuring tape to make sure your cups stay two feet apart.

3.       Race with a friend to see who can be the first to pour all the water from one cup to the other.

4.       Try using two strings instead of one to make a water bridge.

5.       Once you figure out how to transport water across a two-foot gap, try transporting water across the room using only string.

6.       Race with a friend to see which type of string transports water more quickly.

Ready for the Science Scoop? Water molecules have a very strong attraction to other water molecules, so they stick together really well. This is called cohesion. Water molecules can also stick to other materials, like string. This is called adhesion. This is why when you pour water down the string it sticks both to the string and to the water that's already sticking to the string.
What else could you do using string to transport water? Could you water the plants on your patio while you're inside your house? What about catching the rain and sending it somewhere useful, like your dog's water dish? Let us know what you come up with by sending your ideas to ZOOM!