Fairy-Tale Water Department
Log in to saveKids run the water works for a make-believe village, moving and cleaning cloudy water for the townsfolk. It's a gentle intro to filtering and material properties dressed up as a storybook civic job.
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Every level teaches the same core idea — pick the one that fits your time, budget, and energy today.
Setup
Gather funnels, coffee filters, sand and clear a small work surface. Read the Fairy-Tale Water Department mission aloud, then place the supplies where children can choose and compare them safely.
Activity
- Look at a cup of muddy village water and predict which materials will clean it best.
- Build a layered filter in a funnel using gravel, sand, and a coffee filter.
- Pour the muddy water through and discover it clogs or still looks cloudy, then rearrange the layers.
- Deliver the cleaned water to the village dolls and explain how the filter works to the townsfolk.
Done when: Children complete the core mission and the cleaned water to the village dolls and explain how the filter works to the townsfolk.
Materials
Clear plastic cups, coffee filters, gravel or sand, small funnels, food coloring
Shown for the Quick Start version — switch tabs above to see what changes.
Steps
- Look at a cup of muddy village water and predict which materials will clean it best.
- Build a layered filter in a funnel using gravel, sand, and a coffee filter.
- Pour the muddy water through and discover it clogs or still looks cloudy, then rearrange the layers.
- Deliver the cleaned water to the village dolls and explain how the filter works to the townsfolk.
Standards it satisfies
NGSS · 2-PS1-1
Plan and conduct an investigation to describe and classify different kinds of materials by their observable properties.