General Public
Interactive Displays and Exhibits
We have a number of displays and exhibits available for events or simply to have on display at city hall or your local library. Contact us and we may be able to attend your community festival or event. We’ll bring along our displays and exhibits, hand out goodies and have a person available to answer watershed questions.
Enviroscape
The Enviroscape interactive watershed model allows you to sprinkle ‘pollution’ (colored powder) and then see what happens when it ‘rains’ (spray bottle) on the watershed. Learn more about the Enviroscape.
Putt Putt for Clean Water
MCWD owns fun and educational putt putt holes that are light and easily transportable. To request the holes for your event or festival, contact our Education Manager. The course comes with educational posters for each hole. Learn more about the Putt Putt. You may view a PDF of each sign here.
Your Street Connects to Lakes and Rivers
The "Your Street Connects to Lakes and Rivers" interactive display has a pipe in which users can drop balls of ‘stormwater’ into the storm drain and see them come out at the local swimming hole.
Waters Down the Drain Kiosk
The Watershed Interactive Kiosk is an electronic interactive tool for users to learn about stormwater. It features an urban frog singing a stormwater rap, a raindrop who journeys through the stormwater system, and other characters. It comes with a sound dome to assist with noise reduction. The kiosk is sponsored by MCWD, the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization, the City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board.
MCWD 40th Anniversary Traveling Display
MCWD turned 40 in 2007! We have a traveling display that interprets the history of the watershed area, featuring "Tools of Change."
The Tools for Change exhibit consists of large graphics panels using century-old photographic images of life around the District's major bodies of water, Lake Minnetonka and Minnehaha Creek to illustrate how everyday tools for living in the mid-1800s changed the shape and nature of the lake and creek. Two clear glass display cases hold actual artifacts; tools used one hundred years ago to build, farm and create. The exhibit is designed to appeal to all age groups.
We’d love to put it in your city hall, local library or community center. Contact our Education Manager for more information.
Printed Media
Local papers carry news about the MCWD, and the MCWD Board President pens a watershed-related column in the local Sun-Sailor newspapers every other month. Click here to read current and previous press releases and columns.
Looking for a brochure or booklet? We have a few on our Publications page and and are open to working with you on special projects.
Videos and Television Programs
We have a number of other water-related videos in our library available to check-out. Contact us to learn more about the videos we have available to loan.
Below are a couple resources available online:
This six-minute video, written and produced by the Lake Minnetonka Garden Club, highlights the importance of natural shorelines and gives tips on how to naturalize your shoreline. Video production was funded by MCWD's Cynthia Krieg Watershed Stewardship Fund.
MCWD partnered with Minnesota Waters and Twin Cities Public Television to produce 'Minnesota's Lakes at Risk,' a 30-minute program about the impacts of development on our state's most treasured resources. Contact us for a copy of the DVD.
Educational Resources Around the Web
- EPA's Watershed Outreach Digital Toolbox - A brand new resource with ready-to-use materials and templates, including public service announcements, logos and mascots, and samples of popular posters, bookmarks, fact sheets, brochures and more to help spread the word about what citizens can do to protect water quality.
- Minnesota Water: Let's Keep it Clean! - A local group of more than 40 public, private and nonprofit organizations engaged in educating Twin Cities residents about how to care for Minnesota's precious water resources. A great source for water quality information, updates and seasonal tips.
- Project WET (Water Education for Teachers) - Sponsored by Minnesota DNR, Project WET is a water-education program for educators and young people ages 5-18. The program provides classroom-ready teaching aids and training opportunities for teachers.
- SEEK (Sharing Environmental Education Knowledge) - The SEEK web page is a searchable clearinghouse for all types of Minnesota environmental education resources.
- WOW (Water on the Web) - WOW offers high school and college students an opportunity to learn water science through hands-on activities. Real-time water quality data is provided through lake monitoring stations located across the state.
