OUTDOORS

Ambassador Water Badge Activity

Celebrate Water Art and Create Your Own

An underwater art museum that expresses water’s cherished place in the world.

Activity Details

Time needed: 20–30 minutes

Materials needed:

A sheet of paper
A pen or pencil
Colored markers (optional)

Setup: Water surrounds us, sometimes in such quantities that we forget how precious it is. Water is familiar and mysterious. It exists as a liquid, solid, and gas. It falls from the sky and exists deep within the earth. Water can nourish us and challenge us. In this badge activity, you’ll experience the artistic side of water, known scientifically as H2O.

Activity: You’ll celebrate water art and create your own. And you’ll enjoy art that expresses water’s cherished place in ritual and tradition around the world.

First, you’ll enjoy an exhibit that features water. Then you’ll respond to the experience by writing a haiku. Many haikus are inspired by objects in the natural world, such as water. Following a visit to the underwater gallery, you’ll have an opportunity to write one or two haikus to express what you experienced.

Follow the steps below to complete this activity:

Incredibly, there are underwater art galleries all over the world. Do an online search and see what videos and images you can find. (watch the videos in full-screen mode and use a headset to optimize your viewing experience!)
Reflect on how the underwater sculptures are enhanced by the marine life surrounding them.
Become familiar with haikus, a Japanese style of poetry that follows a specific structure.

Traditional haikus:
- Only have three lines
- Have five syllables in the first line
- Have seven syllables in the second line
- Have five syllables in the third line, like the first
- Punctuation and capitalization are up to the poet; no need to follow the rigid rules used in structuring sentences
Read this sample haiku:
These quiet currents
Flow like water over stone
Rippling through my mind.
Think about your feelings and reaction to the underwater gallery you observed, and write a haiku about it; feel free to express yourself however feels most appropriate to you (a photo series, a poem, etc.). Consider sharing your experience with others.