Make Your Own Filter!
Say “Hola!” to 9-year-old Ester. She lives in a small town in Colombia far away from the big cities, where it’s hard to find clean water. Her family doesn’t have a tap in their kitchen, so they must fill buckets with water straight from the river. When Ester drinks it, she feels sick and her tummy hurts. Ow! But thanks to her Compassion center, Ester now has clean water at home! The center gave her family a water tank that fills with fresh rainwater and a special water filter. When Ester fills the bucket attached to the filter, the water that flows out is safe to drink and tastes yummy.
How Ester’s Water Filter Works
Ester’s water filter is a super cool tool! It uses tiny holes that are smaller than germs, kind of like a magic strainer. When she pours dirty water into the container, the water passes through these tiny holes in the filter and all the dirt, sand and germs get stuck inside. This way, only clean water can get through and come out the other side!
Just like Ester, you can see how water filters work by making your own mini filter!
Your filter is different from Ester’s because it’s made from things in your kitchen, like coffee filters, and outside, like rocks. It shows you how water filters work, but remember: It’s not a real water filter, so don’t drink the water from it! It will taste yucky and might make you feel sick.
Let’s get started and discover how clean water can make a big difference!
Supplies
• Dirty water (make your own!)
• Plastic bottle (like a 2-liter soda bottle)
• Scissors
• 2 coffee filters
• Sand
• Gravel or pebbles
• Rocks
Instructions
Adult help needed.
This science experiment is for demonstration only. Do not drink this water!
Prepare the dirty water: Fill a cup with water, add some dirt or sand to make it dirty and set it aside.
Get your bottle ready: Ask an adult to cut the plastic bottle in half and poke a small hole in the lid.
Set up your filter: Flip the top part of the bottle upside down so the lid is at the bottom. Place this part into the bottom half of the bottle.
Add the filters: Put the coffee filters into the top part of the bottle and push them down.
Layer your materials: Add a layer of sand on top of the coffee filters. Then add some pebbles over the sand, and finally, place some rocks on top.
Filter your water: Slowly pour the dirty water over the rocks. Watch what happens to the water that drips into the bottom part of the bottle!
As you pour the dirty water into your filter, watch it go through the different layers. First, the big pieces of dirt and sand get caught by the rocks at the top. Next, the pebbles help trap smaller bits, while the sand catches even tinier pieces. As the water moves down, you can see it get cleaner and clearer.
Now you know how a water filter works by catching the bad stuff in the water! But remember: Your filter isn’t a real one and doesn’t have the special technology that Ester’s does to makes water safe to drink. So even though your filtered water looks cleaner, it might still have germs.
But Ester’s filter from Compassion is a real one, so her water is safe to drink and tastes great! As Ester says, “The water from the filter is clean and prevents diseases. We live healthier thanks to the filter!”
