Hello scientists and welcome to Rise and Shine.

I'm Courtney Cochran and this is Lucy.

And today we're on a hunt for freshwater.

Lucy, can you name three locations in the state of Arkansas where water can be found?

Lucy: Hmm.

Maybe the Arkansas River.

That's one.

Very good.

Lucy: Lake Fayetteville.

Excellent.

Oh, and the Buffalo River.

Very good.

I love the Buffalo River.

Great job, Lucy.

I love those observations.

Did you know that all three of those sources of water are freshwater?

And, in fact, Arkansas only has freshwater sources.

Why do you think that is?

Why do you think we don't have saltwater sources in our state?

Probably because we have no oceans around us.

Excellent observation, Lucy.

Very good.

You know what?

We're going to take a look at some other sources of freshwater in our state and beyond.

First, we have lakes and ponds.

Now, Arkansas is full of freshwater lakes.

I bet you at home probably live not too far from one yourself.

We also have some beautiful rivers and streams that are sources of freshwater.

You know what my favorite thing to do in Arkansas in the summer is Lucy?

Lucy: Go camping?

Yes, camping right next to an Arkansas stream.

I love to hop in my canoe and float down the river on a sunny, sunny summer day.

It's so much fun.

Then, of course, in Arkansas, we also have swamps and marshes.

Now swamps and marshes are wetlands that don't drain very well.

And we have over 200 wetlands in our state.

Isn't that wild?

Yeah.

OK, so all over the world, we have a source of fresh water called ground water.

Groundwater is just beneath our feet because it forms when rain pours on to the soil and seeds down through the cracks in the holes and then collects underneath.

We're going to try an experiment to see how that works.

Let's put on our goggles for safety.

Here's our rain.

Here's our soil, and let's see how it works.

Wow, that's really cool.

Oh, yeah.

Look at it.

See how it is getting wet at the top and it's seeping down.

Wow!

Did you see that?

Lucy: Mm, hmm.

Isn't that cool how it collects at the bottom?

Now our final source of fresh water is glaciers and ice pack.

All around the world, there are glaciers and ice pack, and there are some people who drink the melting glacier water when it's the dry season and all their other sources of drinking water have disappeared.

I think that's really interesting too.

Let's take a look, Lucy, at this graph that shows water distribution all around the world.

What do you notice and what do you wonder?

I notice that there is a lot of freshwater on our planet that's frozen.

I wonder what we can do to protect all this drinking water so that we always have clean water to drink.

Excellent observation yet again.

So everyone at home, when you walk around your neighborhood and communities today, I want you to be sure to look closely for where does your fresh water come from and how can you protect it for years to come.

Thank you for joining us today, scientists (upbeat music) Keep exploring and discovering.

Bye!

It's time to rise and shine.