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Kids learn about clean water
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Clean water is important to me. So I boarded the shuttle across from the Granada and headed to Stearns Wharf to see the Wyland Clean Water Maze at the Ty Warner Sea at the Ty Warner Sea Center. As the tram proceeded down State Street I noticed two boys sitting across the aisle asking their mother some very intelligent questions and hoped the children exploring the maze that day would be as smart.
I’d been to the Ty Warner Sea Center before, seen the interactive displays, and crawled through the tide pool tunnel. But since my last visit they’d added a shark touch tank, so I had to stop and pet a shark—how often do you get that chance. Then I went out past the Wet Deck where kids were lowering contraptions into the hole cut in the wharf to see what they could bring up.
My first impression of the Clean Water Maze was the beauty of Wyland’s art. When the Wyland Gallery opened on State Street I wanted to see it but it never seemed to be open when I was in the neighborhood. I just tried to call the number I found for the gallery and it was out of order, so unfortunately it didn’t just move, it must’ve closed. But I did meet Wyland once when he was in town and we were both whale watching on the Condor Express, and he seemed like a really nice guy. His art has always appealed to me with the tons of whales and dolphins it depicts, and the brilliant colors he uses.
Inside the Maze one encounters many different environments, from the Mississippi River to a coral reef. It’s like a giant board game but instead of rolling dice, you spin wheels located throughout the web. The idea is, you become a raindrop, get mixed up in the water cycle, and see if you can make it to the ocean without getting dirty. Overcoming the challenges the raindrop comes across, such as garbage in storm drains, in order to stay clean is the point of the game.
As I wondered around looking at the pictures and absorbing the environmental information, who should I see but the two inquisitive boys from the shuttle with their mother. She helped them navigate and pointed out interesting items on the different panels. Part of the time they paid attention, and part of the time they just spun the wheels and darted through the swinging doorways. But at the end they each wanted to go through it again.
How nice it is that kids can be kids and still learn something, I thought as I started back to the dolphin fountain at the head of the wharf to catch the shuttle home.
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