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Resources for Educators
We invite educators to explore our curriculum guide for K-8 classrooms. This comprehensive guide includes a compilation of successful STEM lessons and activities designed to support an interdisciplinary, hands-on approach to teaching about NYC’s water story, from drinking water and wastewater, to stormwater and harbor water. The guide also includes additional resources, a glossary, and alignment to the New York State Science Learning Standards and Amplify Curriculum.
Download the Understanding NYC’s Water Story: A Curriculum Guide for the Classroom
Explore specific units in the Curriculum Guide:
- Download Unit 1—Water in Our World
- Download Unit 2—Drinking Water and You
- Download Unit 3—Down the Drain: Out of Sight, Out of Mind
- Download Unit 4—Land and Water: A Delicate Balance
- Download Unit 5—Plan for the Future: Playing a Part
- Download Unit 6—Environmental Stewardship
Further explore these topics with our coloring book, Drippy’s Water Adventure! It features activities and vocabulary highlighting NYC’s extensive water infrastructure. Contact educationoffice@dep.nyc.gov to request printed copies for your students.
We also have education modules complete with lessons and activities, virtual tours, maps, and more. Click “Expand All” to reveal the resources we have in each education topic below. We welcome educators to use these resources to plan lessons and activities about New York City’s environment. For more information, contact educationoffice@dep.nyc.gov.
Education Topics
New York City’s Water Supply System
New York City’s Water Story: From Mountaintop to Tap
Through this activity, students can locate natural and human-made landscapes within the upstate watershed and New York City that relate to their study of water. They can examine and compare different features by exploring their physical and cultural characteristics and discuss how they function in our interdependent world.
- Download New York City’s Water Story: From Mountain Top to Tap
- Download the Student Version of New York City’s Water Story: From Mountain Top to Tap
- Download the Resource Guide for Teachers
- Download the Water Cycle Presentation
NYC Watershed Virtual Tour
Witness the New York City watershed come to life and explore the journey of our drinking water virtually.
New York City’s Wastewater Treatment System
The Wastewater Treatment Process
Discover New York City’s Wastewater Treatment System with your students and find out what happens to the used water and waste that goes down our drains at home and school. Explore the infrastructure beneath our feet that collects wastewater and stormwater runoff from streets and sidewalks and transports it to our 14 Wastewater Resource Recovery Facilities.
The wastewater treatment process brochure is designed to help students understand the essential process that takes places at our facilities everyday, removing pollutants from wastewater, releasing clean water to local waterways, and recovering valuable resources (like renewable energy!) from our waste.
Download the Wastewater Treatment Process Brochure
Wastewater Treatment Virtual Tour
Witness the New York City wastewater treatment system come to life and explore the journey of your water after it goes down the drain.
Green Infrastructure and New York City Waterways
Green Infrastructure Education Module
Introduce your students to the many green infrastructure techniques designed and constructed to manage stormwater runoff and what we can do to help as environmental stewards.
Visit the Green Infrastructure Education Module
Harbor Water Quality Virtual Tour
Witness how we prevent pollution from entering our waterways by managing stormwater.
Start the Harbor Water Quality Virtual Tour
Jamaica Bay Education Resource Directory
Explore resources and program opportunities highlighting one of the City’s most unique, ecologically rich, natural areas. Download the Jamaica Bay Education Resource Directory.
The New York City Sewer System
Sewer System Education Module
Introduce your students to the sewer system that carries our waste and what we can do to help protect it.
Visit the Sewer System Education Module
Sewer System Virtual Tour
Witness and explore the more than 7,500 miles of sewer pipes beneath New York City.
Sound and Noise in New York City
Introduce your students to the human relationship with sound and how noise can impact our health and learning abilities. These STEM lessons and activities can be used in the classroom, as well as for community engagement and citizen science projects.
Climate Change and New York City
Introduce your students to climate science in New York City and the many opportunities for taking action. These interactive, place-based lessons and activities cover a range of climate topics with a focus on scientific research, local climate policy, and environmental stewardship.