Looking for a unique way to explore the water cycle? Check out WaterViz, a collaborative project created by scientists, artists, and musicians.
Scientists at Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire collect continuous data on precipitation, barometric pressure, air temperature, evapotranspiration, soil saturation, and more.
Data from this small, forested watershed is then interpreted by artists into a visualization of the water cycle in near real time.
Musicians interpret each point of data into different instruments and tempos, creating unique musical pieces. Listen to their radio link to hear the most current hour of data, or browse archived pieces from previous years.
They’ve even created a six-lesson curriculum to accompany the project. Designed for grades 6-8, the lessons walk students and educators through how to use animated art, music, and scientific graphs to understand water and weather.
Each lesson also includes modifications for students with visual impairments. In fact, the WaterViz curriculum is featured on the Paths to Literacy website, a site that collects educational resources for visually impaired students.
The WaterViz project lead is Lindsey Rustad, a forest ecologist with the Forest Service. Learn more about her work, check out her collector card, and watch videos where she discusses how she set up one of her studies.
There are lots of other interesting resources on the site, including an ever-changing wind map, a gallery of the watershed visualizations during different weather conditions, more education resources, and additional information about the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest.
Water and Natural Inquirer
We have lots of water resources to pair with WaterViz. Check out a few highlights here or browse all water resources.
