Exhibit Focus: WaterWays

In everyday life, water spouts from faucets, drains from the tub, and rains from above—if you are a child, inevitably, it spills! Spills only add to the fun of the learning that takes place in DuPage Children’s Museum’s WaterWays Neighborhood. In WaterWays, visitors can capture, redirect, understand, and control water.  Experiences in WaterWays offer multiple approaches and myriad solutions—this is discovery learning at its best!

Exploration and Discovery in WaterWays

Water Wheels  The force of water changes when the pressure or rate of movement on it varies. Ladle water over the water wheel, and the wheel turns slowly. Squirt water at it, and something else happens!

Buoyancy  What sinks? What floats? Why?

Volume, Space, and Displacement  Water has volume.  Water takes up space. Pour water from a container into a container of a different size. What happens? Submerge an object and watch the water level rise!

Water Exploration and Discovery at Home

What is there to discover about water?

Water is transparent—I can see through it, but how does it change the way objects look?

Water flows—What makes it move fast? How can I make it move at a slower pace?

Water has weight—Can I lift a container of water when it is full? How heavy is a cup of water?

Water dissolves things—What will happen if I add salt to warm water and stir? Where does the powdered drink mix go when I add it to my bottle of water?

Water can act as a filter—What can I catch in my net as I run it through the water? What stays in? What does not? Why?

Water can be absorbed—How much water can I soak up with a sponge?  Submerge a sponge in water, lift, and squeeze into a cup! How much water were you able to absorb?

Excerpts taken from DuPage Children’s Musuem’s Exhibits: What and How, 2010