Make your own muddy water filter

My kids love mud. If there is a water hose in the vicinity you can bet they will turn it on to “water the plants” or “wash my car” (the intentions always start out good.) But it usually results in a muddy mess in the backyard.

So inspired by Engineering Week, we decided to put our muddy mess to good use and learn how to become water engineers! You should check it out too!

What you need: small water bottle, mason jar, sand, gravel, cotton balls, coffee filter, and muddy water.

How you do it:

1. Fist cut the bottom off the water bottle with a serrated knife
2. Poke a cotton ball or two in the opening of the bottle
3. Layer sand and gravel
4. Put a coffee filter paper on top
5. Make the muddiest water you can possibly imagine (this was their favorite part!)
6. Pour muddy water at the top of the filter
7. Be prepared to be amazed….

What’s the science: As the muddy water filtrate passes through the coffee filter, gravel, sand, and cotton ball the solid residue is left behind.  This is one of many steps of filtration to remove remove solid impurities before water can become drinkable. We discussed how the clear water was still not clean enough to drink and how water engineers use more filtration steps to continue cleaning the water so it becomes safe to consume.

Mark your calendars for March 22 and celebrate World Water Day by trying out this easy experiment – it was fun for even the muddiest mud lovers!