About 150 middle school students watched a tug of war on the Tennessee River this morning that was meant to demonstrate the scarcity of America’s water resources.
It was a part of the Tennessee Aquarium IMAX Theatre’s launch of “Grand Canyon Adventure 3D,” a movie that highlights the declining depths of the Colorado River, but organizers of today’s demonstration said it has timely applications given Georgia and Tennessee’s debate over access to Tennessee River water.
The students first watched the movie and then went down to the river to watch four rafts piloted by Outdoor Adventure Rafting participate in the tug-of-war. One raft was labeled “water resources,” while the other was labeled “water demand.”
Students and their teachers said both the movie and the river demonstration were a good illustration of real-life struggles for water.
“It really help me to learn about the river,” said Janisha Battle, 11, a sixth-grader at Chattanooga Middle School. “I think I’m going to try to do more to help conserve water.”
While the tug-of-war went on, the students asked questions of the aquarium’s chief research scientist about water use and conservation. Neither team was a clear winner, which was supposed to illustrate what happens when humans draw too much from rivers, lakes and aquifers, said Dr. Anna George, the aquarium’s chief research scientist.
“Grand Canyon Adventure 3D” will be open to the public for viewing beginning Sunday.
For complete coverage, see tomorrow’s Chattanooga Times Free Press.
Adam Crisp covers education issues for the Times Free Press. He joined the paper's staff in 2007 and initially covered crime, public safety, courts and general assignment topics. Prior to Chattanooga, Crisp was a crime reporter at the Savannah Morning News and has been a reporter and editor at community newspapers in southeast Georgia. In college, he led his student paper to a first-place general excellence award from the Georgia College Press Association. He earned ...
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