Make a splash at Lake Ouachita State Park

The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) is holding its annual Make a Splash with Project WET Festival at Lake Ouachita State Park, Mountain Pine from 9:45 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Thursday,

May 9. The event will encourage environmental awareness and promote water education through several interactive presentations. Some 250 4th to 6th grade students have signed up for the free event this year. Registration is closed.

Presenters from ADEQ, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Arkansas Geological Survey, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, Garland County Library, Arkansas State Parks, and Ozarks Water Watch will all present interactive programs to rotating groups of students. Included in the presentations will be an interactive Enviroscape model, a popular tool that demonstrates how our individual choices about water use can affect our neighbors, environment and the landscape. Other events include “macroinvertebrate mayhem”, which demonstrates how small life forms can be a big indicator of a water body’s health. Students will be able to check out a mobile aquarium, compete in a water safety relay race and a new hands-on activity called Nautical Knots.

Project WET is a nonprofit organization dedicated to water education. It provides educational material, training workshops and organizes events such as Make a Splash. The program is an integral part of ADEQ’s watershed outreach. More information can be found at http://www.adeq.state.ar.us/poa/watershed_outreach_education/projectwet.htm.