Explore our collection of hands-on and virtual activities for youth, families and adults to learn more about how water affects our planet and communities!
Use the search function to find just the right activity for you.
Groundwater Resources
In this video, Dr. Ben Livneh from CIRES at the University of Colorado Boulder gives an overview of all things groundwater in the Western United States. This video is part of the Water in the Western US lecture series.
Created by: University of Colorado, Boulder
Watershed Impacts
In this lecture, Eric Gordon covers how the state of watersheds in the west can impact life in the surrounding areas. This includes an overview of the effects of wildfires, bark beetle infestations, and desert dust deposition on snow on the watershed. This video is part of the Water in the Western US lecture series.
Created by: University of Colorado, Boulder
River and Flash Flooding
Research scientist Dr. Kelly Mahoney explores rivers and flash flooding in the west. This video covers different kinds of floods, what causes flash flooding, why flash flooding is more of a risk in the Western US, and what happened in the 2013 Front Range floods. This video is part of the Water in the Western US lecture series.
Created by: University of Colorado, Boulder
Impacts of Climate Change in the Interior West
This video features Eric Gordon, who delivers a lecture on the effects that climate change will have on water in the Western United States. This is part of the Water in the Western US lecture series.
Created by: University of Colorado, Boulder
Water Demand for Agriculture
Dr. Reagan Waskom, director of the Colorado Water Institute at Colorado State University, provides an overview on agricultural water use in the west. Learn about types of agriculture, how water is used in agriculture, and why so much water is needed for agriculture in the west. This video is part of the Water in the Western US lecture series.
Created by: University of Colorado, Boulder
Water Demand for Urban Areas
In this lecture, Dr. Joanna Endter-Wada from Utah State University discusses water demand for urban areas. Learn about the nature of urban water demand, urban water management, and more. This is part of the Water in the Western US lecture series.
Created by: University of Colorado, Boulder
Geographic and Physical Overview of the Colorado River Basin
CIRES' Anne Gold delivers a lecture on the physical geographic overview of the Colorado River Basin and the legal and political aspects of water management in the west. This is part of the Water in the Western US lecture series.
Created by: University of Colorado, Boulder
History of Development of the Colorado River Basin
In this video, Dr. Paul Lander from the University of Colorado Boulder gives a lecture on the history of two important dams: Hoover and Glen Canyon. This is part of the Water in the Western US lecture series.
Created by: University of Colorado, Boulder
Climate and the Colorado River Basin Past, Present, and Future
This video features Jeff Lukas from CIRES' Western Water Assessment who discusses the overall climate patterns of the Colorado River Basin, and how we can use this information to study the past, present, and future climate of the western United States. This video is part of the Water in the Western US lecture series.
Created by: University of Colorado, Boulder
The Colorado River Basin Water Supply and Demand Study
In this lecture, Dr. Ken Novak from the US Bureau of Reclamation examines a case study on the water supply and demand of the Colorado River Basin. Learn about how increasing demand for water affects reservoirs and other infrastructure. This is part of the Water in the Western US lecture series.
Stop-Motion Animation Workshop
Learn how to create a short (<1 minute) stop-motion animation of a story. This workshop is designed to be completed in two days or two sessions. Each portion is about 1.5 – 2 hours long.
Created by: Dr. Emily Fairfax, California State University Channel Islands
Doing More With Less: Water Conservation and New Supplies in Las Vegas
In this part of the Water in the Western US lecture series, Eric Gordon from the University of Colorado Boulder discusses the rapid growth of Las Vegas and the history of its water use. This western water story can help us learn about how desert towns can improve their water sustainability.
Created by: University of Colorado, Boulder
Science, Management, and Reality: The Story of the California Bay Delta
Peter Goodwin and Phil Isenberg of the Delta Stewardship Council gave this lecture on the story of the California Bay Delta. They discuss complex management issues with California's water supply and more. This video is part of the Water in the Western US project.
Created by: University of Colorado, Boulder
What Does the Future Hold?
In the final video lecture of the series, Eric Gordon and Anne Gold from CIRES wrap up the series by giving an overview of the previous lectures and discussing possibilities of future challenges facing water in the west.
Created by: University of Colorado, Boulder
Physical Attributes of the Colorado River and Experimental Flows in the Grand Canyon
This lecture by Dr. Jack Schmidt from Utah State University gives an overview on the physical attributes of the Colorado River and how that affects river restoration. This video is part of the Water in the Western US lecture series.
Created by: University of Colorado, Boulder
A Growing Controversy: Hydraulic Fracturing and Water Supplies
This lecture by Dr. Mark Williams from the University of Colorado Boulder gives an overview on the controversial topic of hydraulic fracturing (also known as "fracking"). What is it and how does it affect our water supply? This video is part of the Water in the Western US project.
Created by: University of Colorado, Boulder
Understanding Water Quality Impacts: Boulder Creek Case Study
In this video, Sheila Murphy from the US Geological Survey gives a lecture on the effects that wildfire has on water quality and quantity. This lecture is part of the Water in the Western US project.
Created by: University of Colorado, Boulder
Why Study Water in the West?
This video serves as an introduction to the Water in the Western US lecture series. The instructors Dr. Anne Gold and Eric Gordon explain the importance of learning about water in the Western United States.
Created by: University of Colorado, Boulder
Changing Planet: Withering Crops
This video examines what will happen to crops as Earth's temperature rises and soils dry out because of changing climate.
Created by: NASA/Windows on the Universe
Assessing Drought in the United States
This easy-to-understand video animation describes drought and explains the different categories of drought used by the drought monitor.
Created by: CoCoRaHS, Colorado Climate Center
Too Much, Too Little
This video describes the joint NASA-JAXA GPM (Global Precipitation Measurement) satellite mission and why it is necessary for monitoring precipitation around the Earth. It also discusses the science around issues of having too much or too little precipitation such as landslides and drought. It emphasizes the need for data to fill in gaps, and why data and being able to predict natural disasters is so valuable.
Created by: Goddard Space Flight Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Earth's Water Cycle
This NASA video provides a nice overview of Earth's water cycle from the perspective of looking at Earth from space.
Created by: NASA SVS, Precipitation Education
Water Water Everywhere
This is a short NASA video on the water cycle. The video shows the importance of the water cycle to nearly every natural process on Earth and illustrates how tightly coupled the water cycle is to climate.
Created by: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Drought Data and Projections
This resource includes 3 videos that are animations of drought data. The first is an animation of the US Drought Monitor drought index snapshots from 2010-2018. The second is an animation of global drought data from satellites from 2013-2018. The third is an animation of drought projections for the US from 1950-2095.
Created by: Public Broadcasting Service Learning Media
Baking the Bread Basket: Drought in the Heartland
From scorching July heat to well-below-average summer rainfall, NOAA’s Deke Arndt, Chief of the Climate Monitoring Branch at the National Climatic Data Center, recaps summer climate conditions across the United States.
Created by: NOAA Climate.gov, Ned Gardiner
Hoover Dam and Hydroelectric Power
Since its completion, Hoover Dam has wowed visitors with its sheer massiveness and its ability to create and hold back a reservoir that covers nearly 650 square kilometers (250 square miles). Yet, perhaps even more impressive is the dam's ability to harness the potential energy stored in the reservoir and convert it to electricity. In this video segment, adapted from Building Big, series host David Macaulay explores Hoover Dam's hydroelectric capabilities.
Created by: Public Broadcasting Service Learning Media
Water: A Zero Sum Game
This video takes viewers high into the Rocky Mountain snowpack, where researchers dig snow pits to explore the source of Colorado's water supply.
Created by: Learn More About Climate, University of Colorado Boulder
Climate in the Western US and Water Resources
Jeff Lukas with Western Water Assessment discusses how the climate of the Western United States affects the availability of water resources. Learn more about the natural processes that drive our water cycle in the Western United States. This video is part of the Water in the Western US lecture series.
Created by: University of Colorado, Boulder
Important Things to Know About the Course
Eric Gordon and Dr. Anne Gold give an overview on the basics of the various subjects covered in the Water in the Western US lecture series.
Created by: University of Colorado, Boulder
Geography of the West
Eric Gordon and Dr. Anne Gold give an overview on the geographic features that define the Western United States, both physical and political.
Created by: University of Colorado, Boulder