'WATER'S EXTREME JOURNEY' MAZE DRIPS, DROPS AND KERPLOPS INTO CLEVELAND METROPARKS WATERSHED STEWARD

    

    When is a water drop more than just a drip? When it takes center stage for a limited time in an exciting, interactive maze titled, �Water's Extreme Journey.� This 1,000-square-foot traveling exhibit will be open for exploration December 21 through January 12, at Cleveland Metroparks Watershed Stewardship Center in West Creek Reservation in Parma.

    It will be the first time this fun and educational exhibit makes an appearance in Ohio. Developed with world-renowned marine life artist Wyland, Water's Extreme Journey maze leads participants on a self-guided quest for clean water. Adults and children will learn the science behind the water cycle and find out how daily decisions can immediately improve the watershed in their own back yard.

    With school-age children home on winter break, Water's Extreme Journey is the perfect solution for parents trying to answer the question, �What are we going to do today?� The maze is FREE and it's a parent's trifecta - fun, educational and interactive. Children learn about the water cycle and the importance of clean water while navigating through the maze. Stations scattered throughout the maze present thought provoking questions combined with fun, hands-on activities.    

    Visitors begin the experience as a water drop entering a watershed. Water drops face many hurdles as they interact with humans. Will the farm they pass by be organic? Did a neighbor pour leftover automotive oil down the storm drain? Clean choices keep drops healthy and moving toward a clean ocean. Dirty choices send drops down the urban storm drain to the unhealthy ocean where they evaporate, condensate and precipitate. �Drops� can go through the maze again for another try making cleaner choices.

     �This is a fun and informative way to explore the challenges of caring for our local watersheds,� said Gayle Albers, Watershed Stewardship Center Manager. �By immersing visitors in the water cycle they will learn how to make green and cleaner choices and discover the rewards of a healthy watershed. Each of us has the power to make a significant impact, it just takes a few simple decisions.�

    Some highlights of Water's Extreme Journey maze include: 



    Get Filtered. To demonstrate how grass and other plants naturally filter water, participants take a trip through the Slow Zone. Walk through a curtain of ropes - almost like a car wash - to get cleaned up!



    Water Cycle Puzzle. If you were a raindrop, where might you go? Complete this puzzle and send water on journey. Will it go into a whale, onto a leaf or down the drain? Who knows but the adventure will be exciting!    



    Zip Slide. Turn yourself into a water drop and then plop into the watershed, literally! 



    Dodge Pollution. Spinning wheels simulate interaction between humans and water in five categories: litter, toxins, agriculture, development and seafood. Get through all impact points and stay clean to reach the healthy ocean. 



    While at the new Watershed Stewardship Center, visitors can view the other permanent exhibits such as the interactive topographic map of the West Creek Watershed, an aquarium that models a healthy Ohio stream, and various stormwater control measures such as bioswales, rain gardens and a living roof. 



    Hours for Water's Extreme Journey Maze are Tuesdays - Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 4:30 p.m. Closed Mondays, Christmas and New Year's Day.

    

    Cleveland Metroparks Watershed Stewardship Center is located at 2277 W. Ridgewood Road, between Broadview and State Roads in West Creek Reservation in Parma.