Where's My Water?
Captivating water conservation puzzler focuses on problem-solving
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Where's My Water?
Pros: Top-notch production and an interesting kid-friendly narrative add to engagement.
Cons: No option for multiple profiles; vague details can make physics iffy.
Bottom Line: Fun puzzles encourage kids to use problem-solving skills while gently teaching conservation concepts.
Students and teachers in schools or classrooms well-versed in water conservation will likely recognize the frivolity of using so much water inefficiently, even if it's only a game. Still, Where's My Water? is an activity that could easily fit into an earth science or geology lesson plan, and would be fun to use as a reward for good behavior at the end of class.
Where's My Water? is an app in which players must get water to the adorable Swampy the Alligator's shower by clearing dirt from a water distribution system. By swiping across the screen to erase clogging dirt, start fans, or open or close metal gates, kids carve a path for water to flow. They collect ducks and other bathing accessories as bonuses, and can track their achievements.
Kids can choose to use menus in English, French, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, or several other languages. The app includes hundreds of puzzles across various chapters in Swampy’s story, including “Meet Swampy” and “Rising Tide.” At each level in a chapter, players must get water to Swampy in order to unlock the next level; however, they can unlock new chapters by purchasing them as well as through play.
While kids get to see three forms of matter -- solids, liquids, and gases -- in action, the real learning opportunity is in developing skills in thinking and reasoning, problem-solving, and trial and error. Kids use logic to determine which path is best to carry the water to the end goal and grab bonus rubber duckies along the way. After a few trial-and-error attempts, they'll begin to take into account the physical behavior of water streams in interaction with fans and flat surfaces.
On the downside, the high-production-value graphics take up a lot of storage space -- around 50 MB for the full version. There aren’t multiple profiles, so kids sharing the device won’t be able to track their own progress. And the physical behavior of the water streams often doesn't adhere closely to the laws of physics, partly because details -- like the force of the flow, the height and distance traveled, and the speed and size of fans that alter flow direction -- can be vague.
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Where's the Learning in Where's My Water?
While a claim can be made that perhaps this app helps bolster a student's problem solving capacity, there is no element of the app that allows such a claim to be substantiated. Don't get me wrong... this is a fun game. Certainly, there is a time and place for this. However, there are a variety of curriculum-aligned apps that allow for students to build, create and problem-solve within the content being studied. With so much to teach and such little time to teach it, this app doesn't contain enough "meat" related to content to make a significant enough impact on real learning.
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