Walker Green, 10, said he learned how water is produced and thought it was neat to filter contaminated water.

“The contaminated water was really dirty,” Green said. “We got to put it through these different filters that made it clean.”

The popular station seemed to be the Edible Aquifers where students could take a cup of vanilla ice cream with Sprite poured on top and mix in gummy bears and sprinkles.

The ice cream represented soil, sprinkles represented pollution, Sprite represented rain and gummy bears represented rocks.

Students were asked to put a straw in the ice cream and try to have the liquid flow freely through the straw but found it was difficult with the sprinkles and the gummy bears.

Volunteer Audrey Giles with the Chilton County Master Gardeners said the Edible Aquifers station showed students the importance of not dumping litter such as diapers and motor oil in water.

“The ice cream was my favorite part,” Calhoun said. “I got to eat some of it which was great.”

Gail Russell, a Coosa Basin Facilitator with Alabama Clean Water Partnership, taught students about the water cycle covering precipitation, infiltration, transportation, evaporation and condensation.

“So far, a lot of the students I have met today were familiar with the water cycle because they are covering it in their curriculum,” Russell said. “I have just tried to go a little deeper with them and teach them a way to remember by making beaded bracelets.”

Kevin Morse taught his Fantastic Filtration session reminding students that the more pollution in water, the harder it is to re-use the streams.

Students took cups of water with vinegar, potting soil and confetti and filtered the water through a metal strainer, cheesecloth and coffee filter.

“I am trying to demonstrate that it takes a lot of filtering to make the water drinkable,” Morse said.

Everyone who attended the event received a T-shirt custom designed by a Chilton County fourth grader, Abby Loucks.

Students were invited to draw a design and the winner would have his or her design featured on the front of the T-shirt for the festival.

Loucks’ design had a girl and boy on the front along with a water bottle and a drawing of the earth.

“I thought I would put the water bottle because the festival focused on water and the earth because the earth is full of water,” Loucks said. “I put the boy and girl because we are the ones who need the water.”

Loucks attends Clanton Intermediate and is in Lisa Brown’s class.

Littleton said water festivals are held throughout the state and this is the first one for Chilton County.

“We hope to have many more,” Littleton said. “Everyone seems to be enjoying what they have learned.”