Indiana Students Choose Louisville Water Tower for Their Only Field Trip

“Are you ready for your field trip today?” Heather Hill, Louisville Water’s education specialist asked the group.

“YEESSS!” The Franklin Square Elementary students yelled excitedly.

These third-grade students are only allowed one field trip per year. This year, they chose the Louisville Water Tower and WaterWorks Museum.

Although Jeffersonville does not receive water from Louisville Water, field trip coordinator and third-grade teacher La’Toya Bailey said it was important for her students to understand how drinking water is treated.

“For a lot of them, they take it for granted and didn’t realize all the work that goes into it,” Bailey said.

What does a Louisville Water Tower field trip look like?

A field trip to the Louisville Water Tower and WaterWorks Museum is customized depending on the grade level. Louisville Water’s educators work hard to ensure the curriculum aligns with what the students are learning in the classroom.

For these third graders, the field trip was split into three parts – an educational lesson taught in the Grand Hall of the Original Pumping Station, an exploratory scavenger hunt in the WaterWorks Museum, and a walking tour focusing on the Ohio River, Water Tower, and pumping stations.

The students split into groups and then rotated every 35 minutes so everyone experienced each section.

The lesson introduced the students to major themes and facts surrounding the Ohio River, the water treatment process, and ended with a hands-on experiment to demonstrate how Louisville Water cleans its drinking water.

The scavenger hunt gave kids time in the museum to apply some of what they learned. With questions like, ‘When did Louisville Water first start distributing water’, the activity reinforced key concepts that were later expanded upon during the walking tour.

“My favorite part is when we went through the gate and into the big building where all the WaterWorks are,” said one of the students.

Connecting the dots

When students visit the Louisville Water Tower, they learn so much more than a science lesson. They get nuggets of history, chemistry, and geology – all connected through drinking water.

“I think the one thing that the students are definitely going to take with them is seeing the filtration,” Bailey said. “They saw the water and they were like ‘this is all from the same thing?’!”

The experience was eye-opening for Bailey as well – particularly the history.

“I did not realize how far we’ve come,” Bailey said. “I’m already thinking about bringing my kids back for next year. I’m really excited about it!”

For the last 165 years, the Louisville Water Tower has educated the public on its vital role to the community. That mission remains the same today, welcoming hundreds of school trips like Franklin Square Elementary, special groups, and the community through its doors every year.

Whether it’s a third grader or an 80-year-old, nobody walks away looking at a glass of water the same way again.

“I had a great time on this field trip,” one student said. “I had so much fun.”

Visit LouisvilleWaterTower.com to learn more about booking your field trip experience or group tour.