Activity Overview: The Texas Water Foundation Young Professionals proudly presents the Water, Texas Film Contest. You may be asking yourself, "Where is Water, TX?" The simple answer is ... everywhere. It isn't a farm town out west, a getaway in the Hill Country, or even an ocean-side retreat off Matagorda Bay. Water, Texas encompasses our great state, in that every community has a source of water and innumerable uses for that same water.

In making this a film contest, the Texas Water Foundation is aiming to give Texans the most creative flexibility in communicating their water story to the rest of the state. We hope to inspire the creation of diverse, informative, unique, funny, and thought-provoking films that we can share with others across the state and the nation. Everyone's message is different. And by spreading those messages, we can empower others to share their own stories and make positive changes in their communities. 

Time: This activity is appropriate for project-based learning. As defined by the Buck Institute for Education, project-based learning (PBL) invites students to “work on a project over an extended period of time – from a week up to a semester – that engages them in solving a real-world problem or answering a complex question. They demonstrate their knowledge and skills by developing a public product or presentation for a real audience.” You could consider scheduling this activity at the beginning of a unit on energy, the environment, or engineering to challenge students to start thinking about different interdisciplinary issues. Alternatively, you could schedule this project as a “final examination” to assess students’ grasp of the material and engagement with the interdisciplinary process. For a different approach, consider scheduling a semester- or year-long project, with routine iterations and presentations. Students’ ideas and engineering designs will improve over the scheduled time as they learn more about the concepts and processes involved.

Contest Details

Time Limit: 10 minutes or less
Deadline: March 1, 2020

Film Topics & Guidelines: As our most shared resource, water touches each of our lives on a daily basis - whether we realize it or not. Help us bring about greater awareness regarding the vital role water plays in our daily lives. Films eligible for a prize must:

• Focus on water in the state of Texas
• Be 10 minutes or less in length
• Be submitted by the deadline

Film topics may address, but are not limited to:
• How you use water and its importance in your everyday life (in usual or unusual ways!).
• How lack of water has impacted lives and communities.
• Exposing water waste.
• Highlighting water efficiency and conservation efforts.
• Identifying new ways to use/interact with water in our daily lives.
In short, be creative! Our goal is to inspire the creation of diverse, informative, unique, funny, and thought-provoking films. Please tell us, what’s your water story?

The full details, including submission guidelines and the submission forms are located on the Water Texas Films website.

Portions of this activity have been republished from the Water Texas Films website, which is property of the Texas Water Foundation.