Click on the topics below to expand and find additional water education resources for the classroom or at home.

Water Education Lesson Plans

Discover Water

The Role of Water in Our Lives

Defenders of the Future

Defenders of the Future Tackle Today’s Water Troubles
A free story with lessons, activities, and resources to solve real-world problems for grades 4+

H.O.M.E. School

Alliance for the Great Lakes

Waters to the Sea Mississippi River Adventure

An interactive story map from Hamline University Center for Global Environmental Education

Big Sioux Water Festival

A free story with lessons, activities, and resources to solve real-world problems for grades 4+

Visit Site

The Watershed Game

The Watershed Game is a large-format board game designed for small group work and whole-class participation. It helps students understand watersheds, the relationship between land use, water quality and communities. Student teams apply tools to decrease water pollution while balancing financial resources. The game emphasizes collaboration and cooperative decision-making, persuasive argument, teamwork, and leadership skills along with science and math. The classroom version is appropriate for 5-12th grade. 

Groundwater and Drinking Water

Activities Library

The Groundwater Foundation

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Minnesota Ground Water Association

Visit Site

Anoka County Water Resource Outreach Collaborative

A series of animated educational videos

Drinking Water for Kids

US EPA

Water Environment Federation

Scroll to “Educational Resource Links”

Fishing and Aquatic Invasive Species

Aquatic Invasive Species Teacher Toolkit

Anoka County Parks and Anoka Conservation District

Fishing in the Neighborhood (FiN)

MN Department of Natural Resources

Projects/Taking Action

Adopt-a-Drain

Metro Watershed Partners: a coalition of over 40 public, private and nonprofit organizations in the Minneapolis/St Paul, Minnesota metropolitan area that, through collaborative educational outreach, teaches residents how to care for area water.

H20 for Life

MN Department of Natural Resources

Visit Site

General Environmental

Environmental Education Portal

Minnesota Association for Environmental Education

Hennepin County

Environmental Education

Minnesota Agriculture in the Classroom

Minnesota Department of Agriculture

Natural Resources Field Trip Digital Discovery Packet

University of Minnesota Extension

Minnesota Project WET/MinnAqua

Project WET materials and adapted lessons by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MinnAqua Program) through an agreement with the National Project WET Foundation.

MinnAqua Leaders Guide

A comprehensive look at aquatic life, habitat and fishing. Resources are for educators, resource professionals, recreational leaders, and parents.

Macroinvertebrates

Discover the world of fresh water living critters! Macroinvertebrates are an indicator of water quality. Discover cool facts, find these tiny creatures in your local water bodies, then identify them…it just may show you how healthy your neighborhood water really is!

Macro Mayhem: Download PDF
Full Color Macro Chart: Download PDF

Minnesota Project WET

Minnesota Educators and Parents: Interested in more water lessons and ideas? Visit the MN Project WET website and get trained in Project WET! Take the online course and get a complete 2.0 WET Curriculum Guide mailed right to your door! Lots of hands-on activities that meet state, NGSS and Common Core standards.

MN Project WET Connect

Resource for schools, educators and at-home learners. Check out the National Project WET site for details and fun materials for your schools and homes-new Distance Learning Package (WETconnect) online learning.

Discover Water (Game Website)

Have fun playing games and learning about our Blue Planet! Meet Bridger the Water Dog and find out what watery adventures he is “Sniffing Up!”

Visit Site

Metro Children's Water Festival

Our next in-person festival will be Wednesday, September 25, 2024.

Registration is now closed. Check back in February 2025 to register for the next festival… You won’t want to miss out on this awesome field trip for 4th grade students!