Splish Splash I Was Taking a Bath.....

Yes, there's pretty much no part of our lives that water isn't a part of, sustaining our lives, washing us and the key ingredient in just about everything we do, it even has a place in 60's rock and roll songs!! At the Futureworld ETEC centre it is a part of many of our exhibits such as the wave tank and generator as well as the Nardoo River and Lake Illuka displays. But in addition to these there is a very comprehensive exhibiton on the use and current developments of Hydro electricity. Having been around for at least 50 years or longer everyone is aware of the Snowy River Hydro electricity scheme in NSW and other stations in Tasmania.

These stations produce clean, renewable power and naturally you can learn all the interesting facts here. Unfortunately coal-fired stations still produce a large portion of our total electricity and there are environmental concerns with erecting new hydro-electric power stations. There are only so many rivers to dam and consquences exist both up river and down river from the damming that can greatly affect the delicate ecosystem of the river. The dam reservoir occupies what was previously natural bush and means a loss of the habitat(flora) for the native fauna that originally lived there. Downstream the river flow is somewhat dimished coupled with the added stress of the irrigation of farms, a plight suffered by many of our rivers, which places great stress on the original ecosystem.

Of course there are things been done gradually to rectify these problems including increasing flow to rehabilitate the river. There is also a very interesting shift from large scale hydro-schemes to smaller, more compact generators, providing power for an individual home. Of course there has to be access to a flowing water such as a stream but these handy little units do away with needing a large dam or having to clear large areas of land. They also are designed to have as small as possible effect on river flow. This is great news for our rivers which sorely need help at the moment and for the rest of our environment as well because it means that less of our power is generated from those oxygen guzzling, greenhouse gas belching, coal-fired monsters. The exhibits also features all the technical information as well the innovative businesses and people behind these nature-loving inventions.

Another of our H-Two-Oh inspired exhibits is the Water Cycle or as we sometimes call it our 'Twinkling Christmas Lights' exhibit. This display shows the cyclicle journey that water makes through our world. There are three distinct cycles shown here each lighted up by a different twinkling colour. It's quite amazing to see the journey water takes before and after it comes flowing out of your kitchen tap, showerhead or school bubbler. Having buttons to press and flashing lights will no doubt attract the kids like bees to honey and they'll end up learning something in the process. Aren't we sneaky!!! But we're not done yet. Yes, there's more.

While you're looking in the outdoor section of our centre have a look at the No-Dig Garden. It is totally self sustaining. That's right, even the water. You'll notice the rainwater collection tanks which help keep the garden a green and colour that only freshly collected rainwater can provide. Self-sustainabilty is something Futureworld wants to encourage and promote. It optimises the use of our resources such as natural fertiliser from composting and water from collection of rain and reduces the demand on community resources which are at times in short supply such as in a drought. It all makes a difference. Have a look at the water display too which uses collected water and is solar powered to boot. See you too can have your own little ecosystem and what a great Christmas prezzy it would make too. The only trouble is how would you fit it under the christmas tree!!!