"Hey! Welcome to
H2OU!
I'm your official instructor, Hawkeye the Hach Guy!
"I know students have 1X106 + 1 things to do out there, so thank you for stopping by H2OU! We have a lot of stuff for you to look at and think about, and hopefully you'll learn something and have some fun, too.
If you don't already know, I'm a major believer in water science and what it means for people all over the globe. If I had to sum up what I think in one sentence, it would be easy: When you measure the quality of water, you're measuring the quality of life!
"The Student Lab (we call it the "slab", because of its file name) is a great place to start in H2OU. There's some very important safety information you should review before you even think of starting your experiments. We also have some reference materials about water quality parameters you'll find interesting and useful, and a poster area where you can learn a little about limnology (the study of freshwater lakes), water treatment plants, the nitrogen cycle, and more.
"There's also good stuff you might want to check out in the Teachers' Lounge area (nobody minds if you go over there). The links page is intended for teachers, but I can guarantee you'll find something fascinating at almost every site we list. Okay, maybe not at the catalog sites, but for sure at the others -- for instance, check out The Great North American Secchi Dip-In!
And there are usually some interesting stories in the back issues of our educators' newsletter, Teaching Water Science, about students doing projects -- some are easy, some are really amazing, and hopefully there are some that you might even like to try for yourself.
"Okay, slap on
those safety glasses, and let's go!"
