Physics Students Learn About Water
On Wednesday, April 5, Mr. Flint took his odd period physics students with grades “C” and higher to the West Basin Municipal Water District. HMSA has gone to the West Basin Municipal Water District in the past when Ms. Davis took her environmental and biology classes. This was the first time one of Mr. Flint’s classes got to go. Students came to school and left for the trip at 8:30 a.m.. Shortly, Mr. Flint took attendance and they were off to the West Basin Municipal Water District.
Once the buses arrived at West Basin, the students were given a brief description of the area and split into two groups. The first group went with tour guide Anthony, who gave the students a bigger understanding where the water in Southern California comes from, the effects of the droughts, and how much of water on Earth is drinkable. After the presentation, students were given the task to turn dirty water into the cleanest possible water with the materials they were given. Once time was up, tour guide Anthony went around to see which table had the cleanest water. The winning table was given a West Basin pencil with an eraser in the shape of a water drop.
While the first group was with tour guide Anthony, the second group was with tour guide Loretta. In the second group, the students got to learn where West Basin gets its water from and the different types of water the West Basin makes. Usually, during this part of the tour, students would be shown the process of making the different types of water, but the West Basin was under construction and students weren’t allowed to do this part of the tour. To make up for this part, tour guide Kristen gave the students the tour through a webcam. After both groups were done, they switched and repeated the same thing the group previously did. When both groups ended their part of the tour, it was time for lunch.
After lunch ended, it was on to the next part of the trip. The students hopped back onto the bus and went to the West Basin Splash Science located in Manhattan. West Basin Splash Science is part of the West Basin Municipal Water District that gives students hands-on activities and more information about the West Basin’s desalination efforts to purify ocean water into a possible drinking water source. For this part of the field trip, students were split into the same two groups. The first group went with tour guide Anthony and learned about how much water humans use around the world, the process of desalination, the effects humans have had on different water bodies, etc. At the same time, the second group was with tour guides Loretta and Kristen. The students got to touch and/or observe some aquatic creatures: sea cucumbers, horn sharks, a flounder fish, and much more.
The field trip came to an end and it was time to go back to school. Students received a bag from the West Basin Municipal Water District including a shower timer, an activity book, and a toilet tank bank.
