For several years now, excursions to the waterworks of Stadtwerke Giessen in Queckborn have been part of the holiday play programme of numerous local authorities. Over the past few weeks, hundreds of children have once again taken advantage of this opportunity to learn more about the number one foodstuff.
In this country, it is taken for granted that clean drinking water is available in every household. However, very few people are able to explain how Germany's most important and most strictly controlled foodstuff gets there and the effort that goes into it. 350 schoolchildren from the region wanted to find out exactly. Over the past few weeks, they visited the waterworks of Stadtwerke Gießen (SWG) in Queckborn. SWG has been offering this popular excursion as a holiday play activity for several years - on a total of 16 dates in 2014.
"Where does the water come from, is it safe to drink and how does it get to our homes? The children came to Queckborn with questions like these. Our experts answered them," explains Kerstin Knöpper from Stadtwerke Gießen.
Much more than a thirst quencher
The girls and boys from various towns and communities in the district spent a morning in Queckborn. On site, they first watched a film that illustrated the role of drinking water in everyday life. The children then played a pantomime game to show where they themselves use the number one foodstuff at home. The realisation: water rarely flows out of the tap to quench thirst. Showering, bathing, washing hands and pressing the flush button on the toilet top the list. So it's no wonder that the average daily consumption per person is over 60 litres.
Skill and knowledge required
At the end of each excursion day in Queckborn, a competition was on the programme - the Water Olympics. The pupils competed against each other in various disciplines - for example in the game "Save the fish". The young experts demonstrated their inventiveness and knowledge on the topic of "Water pollution and how to combat it".
Afterwards, sporting skill and a steady hand were required - on an obstacle course that the children had to overcome as quickly as possible without spilling large quantities of water. "After their trip to our waterworks, the kids certainly had a lot to talk about at home. And I'm sure they were also able to explain a few things about drinking water to their parents that the adults didn't know," says Kerstin Knöpper confidently.