A hands-on activity to discover how groundwater works on La Palma and learn about some of the challenges posed by climate change.
On 21 May 2026, we took part once again in the Canary Islands Mini Science and Innovation Fairs, in Breña Alta, with an event organised as part of the GENESIS project focusing on water on La Palma. From the Association for Research on Macaronesia (AIM) we took part alongside La Palma Research Centre (LPRC), with Raquel Pino, on a day when we worked with different groups of schoolchildren to find out a bit more about what happens to water on our island.
One of the things that struck us most this year was meeting up again with pupils who had taken part in the activity before. Although they didn’t remember all the concepts we’d covered, they did recognise the model and some of the activities they’d taken part in.
This year we wanted to give even more focus to the practical side of things. Together, we drew the water cycle directly onto the model and, building on that, we introduced concepts such as infiltration, groundwater, tunnels and wells, using real photographs to help link what we were depicting to the infrastructure that forms part of everyday life on La Palma. We also discussed climate change and Nature-based Solutions, and how GENESIS is exploring these kinds of solutions on the island.
But there is one thing that keeps coming up every time we do this activity. For many children, discovering where the water they use every day comes from is still a surprise. Understanding what happens after it rains, where that water can be stored, or how we manage to access it leads them to start asking questions about something that is right on their doorstep, but which they are often unaware of.
And that is precisely what we like most about this sort of activity: that the model is just the starting point for them to ask questions, experiment and learn a little more about how water works on the island where they live.
Mini-fairs 2026 in pictures
You can see more highlights from the event on our social media.