Kids clustered around the miniature, makeshift aqueduct at the “Discover Engineering” activity. All hands-on deck. Water was leaking from the aqueduct and preventing the maximum amount of water from flowing by gravity to a bucket 3 feet away.

Separate from the frenzy, an 8-year-old girl was swiftly slicing a small section of foam noodle (a piece of the “aqueduct”). She slowly approached one of the kids and suggested taping the small section to the foam pipe to fix the leak.

With that moment of teamwork, the team was able to terminate the trickle and successfully transport half a gallon of water.

Welcome to CAP Kids Day.

What is CAP Kids Day?

This was just one activity at CAP Kids Day 2026, themed “Safety Safari,” where kids learned about safety and water industry education – and the work of their CAP-employed parents or grandparents.

Other activities educated kids about water conservation, best use of artificial intelligence and the dangers of distracted driving. The event also featured for the first time Peoria Police Department’s K9 “Roscoe,” a cybersecurity electronic device finding dog.

The scene scattered across CAP headquarters during a recent summer morning as more than 100 kids aged 8-18 enjoyed some of the 13 activities to learn about the critical work CAP performs for central and southern Arizona.

Held annually at CAP headquarters, Kids Day also aims to inspire future generations of CAP employees on their own future career paths.

Water education for the public

In fact, CAP believes it’s important that all Arizonans within its three-county service area (Maricopa, Pinal and Pima counties) understand the importance of the Colorado River water CAP delivers. If you live or work in central or southern Arizona, you have a connection to CAP. 

CAP even is constructing a Water Education Center to be an accessible and secure space where people can learn about CAP’s history and operations, as well as Arizona’s water story.

How is CAP helping build future water leaders?

The future will be guided by kids like these who enjoyed a late-May morning learning about areas such as engineering, safety, water operations, and many of the everyday working duties of their CAP-employed parents and grandparents.

Aside from Kids Day, our Award for Water Research Program is also planting seeds of future water leaders by rewarding collegiate research.

Learn more about CAP and the community.