Our Water Exhibit Themes, Descriptions and Curriculum Links
Questacon’s Our Water is a touring hands-on exhibition which is suitable for visitors aged 10 years and older. This document lists Our Water exhibit names, descriptions, key themes and subject areas as well as how Our Water links to the Australian National Curriculum.
Our Water's 28 interactive exhibits celebrate one of our most precious resources and it investigates how Australians use and preserve water in cities, farms and factories. Exhibits are designed to challenge users to think about how they use water at home, as well as broader community decisions about how water is allocated and the consequences of the different uses and re-uses of water in Australia.
The following suggestions and questions are useful for strengthening the educational experience for students and encouraging them to connect exhibit concepts to what they encounter in their everyday lives.
· What parts of the water cycle do you experience in your daily life?
· How much of your body consists of water? Do you contain more water or less water than someone who's taller than you?
· How much water do you use at home? How can you change habits to reduce your water use?
· Where does stormwater go after it exits a stormwater drain?
· Is there enough water to share between cities, farms, ecosystems and factories? How would you make choices about water allocations?
· Would reverse osmosis be an efficient process to treat grey water, or to extract freshwater from salt water?
· What factors would a farmer need to think about when selecting an irrigation system?
· If you were a farmer, what information would you need to help you make decisions about water allocations?
Our Water Exhibit Name
/Exhibit Description
/Key Themes
/Subject Areas
/Bodies of Water / 'Photograph’ your body's silhouette then see it 'fill up' onscreen to show how much water is in your body’s organs and skin. / biology, human, physiology, water, multimedia / Biology – human body (physiology)
Catchment Manager / Move elements like farms, livestock, dams and houses around the model catchment and watch the screen to see the effects on the water downstream, demonstrating connectedness of catchment systems. / earth science, water, hydrology, ecology, conservation, catchment, planning / Earth science – hydrology (water cycles, quality & conservation)
Crank it Clean / Turn the handle to see how much energy it takes to push water through a reverse osmosis membrane. Compare the amount of clean water you obtain with how much waste water is produced. / water, technology, osmosis, filter, membrane, energy, molecules / Earth science – hydrology (water cycles, quality & conservation)
Technology
Crop Drops / This exhibit explores efficiency of irrigation methods and the importance of directing water at a crop’s root zones. Select one of the three model irrigators and race against your friends to see who’s first to get enough water into their target root zone. / earth science, water, hydrology, irrigation / Earth science – hydrology (water cycles, quality & conservation)
Technology
Fish for Facts / Hook up a fish panel from the rotating pond and flip your catch over to learn cool facts about wetland life and ecology. / early childhood, water, fish / Early childhood
Earth science – hydrology (water cycles, quality & conservation)
Hidden Water / Use this touch screen to investigate the amount of hidden or embedded water used to manufacture everyday items and food. / water, manufacturing, conservation, efficiency, embedded, consumer / Earth science – hydrology (water cycles, quality & conservation)
Mapped Out / Investigate Australia’s water resources using the onscreen maps that show where our water comes from and where it is used by Australian cities and farming communities. / earth science, water, hydrology, cycle, artesian, river, lake, ocean, rainfall, weather data, climate / Earth science – hydrology (water cycles, quality & conservation)
Lots of Litres / This large graphic presents water units in an easy-to-understand form. So litres, megalitres and gigalitres are presented in terms of milk cartons, petrol tankers and swimming pools. / water, measurement, litres, metric units / Mathematics – measurement (time, size, mass, density, volume)
Platypus Trail / Try to find the platypuses hidden on various exhibits. Each one you find will give you a fun fact about these fascinating animals. / water, ecology, platypus, facts, Australian, mammal, monotreme / Early childhood
Biology – animals (physiology, anatomy & adaptations)
Plumbed In / See which parts of the model house you can connect to the recycled water system. See how much water you can save by using recycled water around the home through dual reticulation systems. / water, technology, house, conservation, efficiency / Technology
Earth science – hydrology (water cycles, quality & conservation)
Provision Decision / Use this mechanical interactive to decide how much water you will allocate to agriculture, the city and the environment. Is there enough to go around? See the potential outcomes of your decisions of who gets water and how much they get. / water, conservation, efficiency, agriculture, city, urban, environment, water allocations / Technology
Earth science – hydrology (water cycles, quality & conservation)
Pump It Up / Investigate the connectivity of surface and groundwater on this model of a rural property. Fill the water tank from the bore and see what happens to the river. / water, technology, pump, rural, artesian, groundwater / Technology
Earth science – hydrology (water cycles, quality & conservation)
Rain Dance / Use your body in the projected cloud to gather water droplets and make it rain. What happens in rainclouds to make it rain / water, technology, multimedia, game, rain / Earth science – atmosphere & meteorology (weather)
Reflections / Use the giant magnetic wall to record your own thoughts and opinions on water or read what others have said before you. / water, literacy, poetry, thoughts, opinions / Biology – ecology (plant & animal populations, food webs)
Routes for Reuse / See how future cities may be designed to be as water efficient as possible. Touch the screen to choose a route for stormwater to travel through a maze of water harvesting and recycling technologies. / earth science, water, cycle, technology, efficiency, stormwater / Earth science – hydrology (water cycles, quality & conservation)
Saving Water / Navigate your way around this multimedia house and discover tips and advice to help you save water at home. / water, technology, conservation, efficiency, house / Technology
Earth science – hydrology (water cycles, quality & conservation)
Star Quality / Take water through various treatment processes and investigate how water of different qualities can be used for different things. / water, technology, quality, potable, drinkable, conservation, efficiency, house, sewage, sewer, treatment, pollution / Earth science – hydrology (water cycles, quality & conservation)
Stormwater / Use this mechanical maze to see what can pollute stormwater in our waterways. Can you get the stormwater to the drain without picking up any pollution? / water, stormwater, technology, pollution, drain, house, street / Earth science – hydrology (water cycles, quality & conservation)
Survive the Sewer / Play this interactive board game and see if you can survive the sewer and make it all the way to the treatment plant while you discover factors affecting water in sewers. / water, sewage, sewer, game, multimedia, pollution, treatment / Earth science – hydrology (water cycles, quality & conservation)
Tilt a Filter / Use this giant filter to investigate how filters work and the effects of hole size on membrane filtration. / water, filter, membrane, molecules / Technology
Chemistry – material science, atoms & particles
Water at Work / Scan tokens for information about how certain industries are reducing their water use. / water, conservation, efficiency, technology, industry, manufacturing / Earth science – hydrology (water cycles, quality & conservation)
Water Farmer / Use this touch screen interactive to play the role of a farmer and decide how you’re going to use your water allocation. Which crops will you grow? How will you irrigate them? How can you maximise your returns without using too much water? / water, irrigation, crops, farming, agriculture, management, conservation / Earth science – hydrology (water cycles, quality & conservation)
Water Footprint / Set the dials and switches to match your behaviour and find out how much water you currently use around the home. Then make adjustments to see how you can change your behaviour to use less water and reduce your water footprint. / water, house, home, efficiency, conservation, footprint, technology / Culture – popular culture & everyday life
Water Stories / Learn more about water in various places, from a puddle, to a glacier, to a toilet bowl, by flicking through this unique publication and watching its pages come to life. / water, cycle, ice, steam, glacier, home / Earth science – hydrology (water cycles, quality & conservation)
Water Views / Different people value wetlands for different reasons. View and compare large graphic panels showing a wetland in a healthy and a degraded state. Listen to different people’s views and opinions about the issues involved. / water, ecology, wetland, conservation / Scientists & inventors
Chemistry – environmental chemistry
Earth science – hydrology (water cycles, quality & conservation)
Water Wizard / Explore the water cycle using this themed digital pinball game. / water, cycle, pinball / Earth science – hydrology (water cycles, quality & conservation)
Well of Knowledge / Explore water facts, myths and misconceptions by tossing question coins into the well, and peering in to see the answers appear. / water, conservation, efficiency, agriculture, city, urban, environment, quiz, myths, facts / Earth science – hydrology (water cycles, quality & conservation)
Australian Curriculum Links
Our Water exhibits link to the Australian National Science Curriculum. Core links indicate content that is directly covered within the exhibition, while optional links indicate content that is dependent on how people use and facilitate various exhibits.
Year 2 core link
Earth and space sciences (ACSSU032) Earth's resources, including water, are used in a variety of ways
Year 2 optional link
Use and influence of science (ACSHE035) People use science in their daily lives, including when caring for their environment and living things
Year 3 core link
Chemical sciences (ACSSU046) A change of state between solid and liquid can be caused by adding or removing heat
Year 3 optional link
Use and influence of science (ACSHE051) Science knowledge helps people to understand the effect of their actions
Year 4 core link
Biological sciences (ACSSU073) Living things, including plants and animals, depend on each other and the environment to survive
Year 4 optional link
Use and influence of science (ACSHE062) Science knowledge helps people to understand the effect of their actions
Year 5 core links
Use and influence of science (ACSHE217) Scientific knowledge is used to inform personal and community decisions
Year 5 optional link
Use and influence of science (ACSHE083) Scientific understandings, discoveries and inventions are used to solve problems that directly affect people's lives
Year 6 core links
Biological sciences (ACSSU094) The growth and survival of living things are affected by the physical conditions of their environment
Chemical sciences (ACSSU095) Changes to materials can be reversible, such as melting, freezing, evaporating; or irreversible, such as burning and rusting
Use and influence of science (ACSHE100) Scientific understandings, discoveries and inventions are used to solve problems that directly affect peoples' lives
Use and influence of science (ACSHE220) Scientific knowledge is used to inform personal and community decisions
Year 7 core links
Chemical sciences (ACSSU113) Mixtures, including solutions, contain a combination of pure substances that can be separated using a range of techniques
Earth and space sciences (ACSSU116) Some of Earth's resources are renewable, but others are non-renewable
Earth and space sciences (ACSSU222) Water is an important resource that cycles through the environment
Year 8 core link
Use and influence of science (ACSHE136) Science understandings influence the development of practices in areas of human activity such as industry, agriculture and marine and terrestrial resource management
Year 9 core link
Nature and development of science (ACSHE158) Advances in scientific understanding often rely on developments in technology and technological advances are often linked to scientific discoveries