H2Owood Squares is based on the more famous television game, Hollywood Squares; however, all the questions in H2Owood Squares relate to water protection. The target audience is youth in grades four and five and they learn water protection in a fun way by playing a game. The students enjoy the game so much that they don't even realize how much they are learning about protecting water. In creating H2Owood Squares, I first designed the game, then built a life-sized frame from PVC pipe that was relatively economical to build, yet fairly durable and easily transportable to be able to reach my various audiences. I also researched publications and websites to formulate the questions that would teach protection of water, then reserved classroom space at a local college, and recruited volunteers to assist me in making the presentations. I have also written and illustrated a children's story called "Consumerland, What Happened to the Castle?" which teaches environmental protection on a level that children can understand, but also reaches out to adults. I have presented this book in CD form on a large screen to audiences across the state. I have been presenting H2Owood Squares to groups of students for nearly seven years and have reached youth and adults from over 350 schools in Nebraska directly with the game, as well as over 500,000 more from every state, Puerto Rico, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan. I have discussed the project with dignitaries of the regional and national EPA, Senators and Congressmen, and Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman. In the spring of 2009, I developed a companion program that also teaches water protection. "The Adventures of Sherlock Hydro" takes students on a mystery-solving expedition where knowledge of water is needed to decipher the clues. In 2010, I will debut another educational activity called "Greenigami." This activity teaches creative ways to reuse products that would otherwise be considered trash. While participating in the workshops, attendees will learn how to do origami and use that skill to reuse paper products. Thanks to endowments I have set up, over 300 high school students have now developed their own programs to teach water protection to younger students, and through a scholarship fund I endowed, students entering a career in water resources have assistance with educational costs.
