World Science Festival: Eye on Water Brisbane 2018
Brisbane World Science Festival 2018
The 2018 WSF line up included a range of presentations and workshops along with numerous educational booths and interactive displays. The ‘EyeOnWater’ team were pleased to be a part of CSIRO’s ‘water’ tent.
For two days Brisbane’s foreshore was flooded with curious families, future scientists and inquisitive academics. Marlee and Janet from the ‘EyeOnWater’ team shared the importance of water colour and quality with visitors of all ages. Three water tanks with significant colour differences were displayed for the visitors to analyse.
Using a water colour palette, guessing the reasons why each tank had its colour became a lot of fun for wide eyed children and families. Something as simple as water colour was easily understood by most and gave the children the ability to look at their own water systems, such as the Brisbane River. This helped them to understand the reasons for its brown colour and changes in this colour throughout the seasons.
Intrigued citizen scientists learnt about ways they can support the monitoring of water systems through the ‘EyeOnWater’ phone app. Many noted the changes in their local water systems and were enthusiastic to contribute to understanding water systems to intern protect their health. Enthusiastic visitors were also excited to hear about the use of water quality testing kits in schools around Australia and many enquired about the use of these kits in their own schools and towns.
For Marlee and Janet, the numbers of guests visiting the booth was overwhelming. “It’s amazing to see how many people are interested in understanding their local environment, and even more amazing to see how enthusiastic everyone is to contribute to the health of our waterways.
EyeOnWater phone app
The world science festival was the perfect place to share the value of the ‘EyeOnWater’ app and the use of water quality kits in schools.
With such an array of stalls the event was buzzing with excitement. The introduction of this citizen science project has already been met with enthusiasm and willingness to contribute for the future. Ongoing support for the project will return valuable data and information for Australia to better protect the health of one of our most precious resources, our waterways.