This page contains the material submitted to the local paper - The Davis Enterprise - for Explorit Science Center's news column published in that paper on Fridays.

Do you know what makes a wetland a wetland? How many different types of wetlands can you name? What kinds of wetlands are found around Davis?

Learn all about wetlands this weekend at Explorit Science Center. Explorit is free for the entire family--as well as for all friends and neighbors-- on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The current exhibition, “Creature Features: Exploring Wetlands Wildlife,” presents an in-depth look at many different aspects of wetlands environments.

At Explorit, hands-on experiments allow you to examine the diversity of tiny insects that live in wetlands waters. Observe the incredible process of metamorphosis as tadpoles mature into frogs. Investigate feathers, plants, animal pelts and skulls to learn about the variety of life supported by wetlands habitats. Discover what makes wetlands unique and why they are so important to our ecosystem.

Wetlands habitats are much more than simply lands that are wet. If the land outside your home flooded and remained waterlogged for much of the year, would it be considered a wetlands? Probably not.

Wetlands are defined by three unique characteristics. First, wetlands are areas of land that have wet or waterlogged soils throughout most of the year. Located in low-lying areas, like valleys, rain, groundwater and other runoff help keep them saturated with water. Often, they are located near other larger bodies of water, like a river, which overflows into the wetlands.

The other two defining characteristics of a wetlands are its functions and the wildlife it supports. Wetlands have very specific functions. They help rid the environment of pollutants; they prevent soil erosion; and they offer flood control. Like giant sponges, they soak up water, which helps reduce flooding. While soaking up water, wetlands also dilute and filter out pollutants so that water can be used again.

Lastly, wetlands are home to a huge number of animals and plants that are specially suited, or adapted, to a wet environment. These adaptations allow plants and animals to thrive and to share resources in the same habitat.

There are a variety of different kinds of wetlands all over the world. There are saltwater wetlands, marshes, swamps and bogs, for example. Freshwater marshes make up about 90% of all wetlands. All of the wetlands in and around Davis are freshwater wetlands.

Wetlands are also part of a greater water system called a watershed, which is a geographic area in which water, sediments and dissolved minerals all drain into a common body of water. A watershed includes all of the plants, animals, people, homes, rocks and soil that live in it. In Davis, we are all part of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta watershed. All of the rivers, streams and wetlands surrounding Davis drain into the Delta and then the San Francisco Bay.

Hands-on activities at Explorit allow visitors to investigate the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta system and to learn more about watersheds in general. Create a rainstorm and follow the rainwater as it flows through a watershed system! Make a map of a watershed. Learn how pollution affects everything within a watershed, including wetlands and wetlands wildlife. Make your own plant field guide and other resources to take home and to help you continue your learning outside of Explorit.

“Creature Features: Exploring Wetlands Wildlife” closes on June 9. Take advantage of the last Free Saturday of the exhibition to go wild about wetlands and discover your own role in watershed health at Explorit Science Center. Please note, Explorit will be closed Monday in observance of the Memorial Day holiday.

“Creature Features: Exploring Wetlands Wildlife” is sponsored by Sacramento River Watershed Program-Watershed Education Project and the City of Davis.

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