Event

World Water Day

March 22, 2026
1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Use code: MPU for free admission at checkout

McAllen Public Utility and International Museum of Art & Science (IMAS) invite the community to celebrate World Water Day at the museum on Sunday, March 22, 2026, from 1:00 -5:00 p.m. Join us at IMAS as we learn more about our precious resource through hands-on learning, demonstrations, talks and more.

Admission is free to the public, courtesy of McAllen Public Utility.

World Water Day is an annual United Nations Observance focusing on the importance of freshwater. The purpose of the United Nation’s World Water Day is to raise awareness of people who live without access to safe water and dedicated to ensuring no one is left behind and to make water a catalyst for a more peaceful world.

Supported by:

Activities

Science On a Sphere® (SOS)

World Water Day Panel
Diversifying MPU’s Water Portfolio
2:30 – 3:30 p.m.

Join Mark Vega, General Manager of McAllen Public Utility, Jim Darling, Chairman of Region M Rio Grande Regional Water Planning Group, and Samantha Colunga, Program Specialist with the Texas Water Resources Institute, for a discussion panel on the future of McAllen water. McAllen Public Utility will share more information about the future of diversifying the water portfolio through ground water desalination as the City of Mcallen continues to grow. The panel will be moderated by Sandra Hansmann, PhD, CRC/R, Assistant Provost – Texas A&M Higher Education Center at McAllen.

Moderator

Sandra Hansmann

PhD, CRC/R, Assistant Provost, Texas A&M Higher Education Center at McAllen

Panelist

Mark Vega

General Manager of
McAllen Public Utility

Panelist

Jim Darling

Chairman of Region M Rio Grande Regional Water Planning Group

Panelist

Samantha Colunga

 Program Specialist with the Texas Water Resources Institute

BioZone

MPU Water Education
Native Drought Resistant Planting Station

Ann Moore Art Studio

Where the Water Flows, Equality Grows posters
Create World Water Day posters inspired by the importance of access to water.

Welcome Pavilion

Talk Back Station
Prompt: How would not having access to clean water impact your daily life?

Write one thing that you wouldn’t be able to do without access to clean water.

Discovery Pavilion

Grateful for Water Reception
1:00 – 1:45 p.m.

Water Journey Exhibit

Willy the Water Drop

McAllen Public Utility
Lab Tech, Engineers, and Wastewater tables

Watershed Station by Texas A&M
Facilitated by panelist Samantha Colunga

Fine Art Galleries

Bingo
2:00 p.m. , 3:00 p.m., & 4:00 p.m.

Courtyard

Water Walk Challenge
Simulate the journey many people – mainly women and girls – take every day to fetch water. Carry small containers for a set distance.