Students learn about Lake Superior at MTU’s Water Festival

HOUGHTON — Over 1,000 students from across the Copper Country made their way to the Great Lakes Research Center on the Michigan Tech campus for the third annual Water Festival.

The event is designed to offer students engaging Lake Superior-based content taught by MTU scientists and students, as well as community experts including artists and historians.  Some of the larger groups were seen near the docks where they learned the basics of fishing and spoke to members of the U.S. Coast Guard.

“We want them to want to appreciate our water resources and of course here with Lake Superior that’s right out our door. But also, all the different natural resources that are supported by the lake,” MTU Center for Science and Environmental Outreach director Joan Chadde said.

Among the other activities were remotely operated vehicles, fish ecology, and the clean water challenge, which is very popular because students are designing their own systems of filtering water.

“And we give them a sand filter, charcoal filter, gravel filter, a screen and they have to design a process and it’s pretty cool. They do a really good job. So anything they get to be more involved in, that’s usually pretty popular,” Chadde said..

The event brought in local high school students last year.  This year, the students were from grades 4-8.