Water for Schools
Menu

Massachusetts Water Resources Authority

MWRA School Education Program

MWRA offers free K-12 classroom presentations and hands-on activities, including a model water-distribution system built from straws and cardboard tubes, plus downloadable curriculum guides for grades 3-4 and middle school and tours of the Deer Island wastewater treatment plant. An annual poster, writing, and video contest asks students what should and should not go down a drain.

Visit MWRA School Education Program ↗

What you will find there

  • Free curriculum guides for grades 3-4 and middle school, downloadable directly, on water supply and conservation
  • Classroom presentations and hands-on activities for grades K-12, including a model water-distribution system built from straws and cardboard tubes
  • Tours of the Deer Island wastewater treatment plant with a companion scavenger hunt
  • "Dwayne the Storm Drain," an award-winning coloring book on stormwater pollution, available in English and seven other languages
  • An annual poster, writing, and video contest on what should and should not go down drains
  • Wachusett Reservoir watershed education programs and free teacher training workshops

Our take

Building the System, an MWRA classroom presentation for grades 3-5 in which students build a model water-distribution system from straws and cardboard tubes, is a concrete, low-cost hands-on activity, and the coloring book's editions in eight languages reflect real effort toward multilingual outreach. Programs are open to schools within MWRA's Massachusetts service area, and the free downloadable curriculum guides currently cover only grades 3-4 and middle school, so high school teachers will draw more from the presentation menu than from a guide.

Pairs well with our materials