TWU brings water education to elementary students

March 5, 2025 — DENTON — Texas Woman’s University faculty and students presented Water Ninjas, an interactive lesson on the water cycle and water conservation, to second graders at Denton's Newton Rayzor Elementary.

The presentation was given by Alana Taylor from TWU's Chemistry and Biochemistry division, TWU student volunteers from environmental science, professional education, aeronautical sciences and nursing programs, and a volunteer from the Tarrant Regional Water District.

Water Ninjas teaches about Denton’s urban water cycle, encouraging students to understand the water cycle and practice water conservation in their daily lives and fostering environmental awareness from an early age.

It explains the journey of water droplets travel from clouds as rain to their home faucets. The program showed how water moves over the earth’s surface in urban environments, how drinking water comes from lakes, and efforts to collect, clean and transport it to homes while emphasizing the importance of conserving water and protecting water quality.

The event included an obstacle course, in which second graders experienced the urban water cycle through play. Students started by bouncing on a trampoline to mimic falling from a cloud as raindrops, moved through various stages representing storm drains, creeks, and lakes using scooters, blue ribbons, and balance beams. After reaching the lake, they traveled through pipelines before arriving at the water treatment plant, where they spun through hula hoops to symbolize purification. They continued through tunnels leading to homes, where they simulated real-world water uses such as brushing teeth and watering lawns.

TRWD provided the supplies for the obstacle course. TWU student volunteers helped teach lessons in English and Spanish.

“It was a fantastic day,” Taylor said. “The second graders had a blast, and our TWU volunteers did an incredible job making learning exciting and impactful.”