Aquapura - Let`s save the planet!

Water is the most basic necessity for humankind and the superhero for this meeting, Aquapura, wants to protect it. We need it for drinking, washing, irrigation and energy. Since the dawn of time we have explored its properties and used them to solve daily problems. The mediaeval town of Altamura is in a hot region and over time has used wells and pumps.

During the meeting the children visited the Alta Murgia National Park to see the Pullo where they saw how early people found shelter and water in the landscape. Plants too found shelter and water in the crevices of the old drystone walls, where they flourish and also provide food for a variety of wildlife. In the Mediterranean city of science, in Bari, the children used practical models to see how water can be moved as well as recreating natural phenomena such as whirlpools.

In the Castellana Grotte the children saw the effect of water underground. The huge stalactites and stalagmites were built over hundreds of years through the water dripping into the caves and the mineral deposits building up. It is also the site of the most complete Neanderthal skeleton ever found. It cannot be removed from the site because of the mineral deposits that have built up on it.

In the village of Alberobello, the children saw the small conical houses called trulli, first built in the 15 th Century. The houses were commanded to be built without mortar. This was to avoid paying taxes as the small roundhouses with conical roofs could easily be dismantled and moved. They proved to be a very sustainable form of dwelling and are still used today. The town of Matera is built high on the rock but next to the small rivers that flow down the valley. Here the children saw evidence of the need for a close water supply as well as more of the culture of the Puglia region.

Before the meeting children in each school had the same 2 or 3 investigations to research based on problems to solve of the type that may have faced people in the past; How do we move water from one place to another? How do you clean water so that we can use it? They prepare an explanation of their work and at the project meeting, participants from each school presented the work at a small science fair, showing models, charts, booklets, inventions etc to explain what they did.

The art and pottery workshops had a water them as well as using paints extracting from easily found vegetable; tomatoes, red cabbage, spinach etc.