Creating meaningful ‘aha’ moments for our youngest learners
For more than three decades, Central Texas students have learned about the water cycle, water conservation, watershed protection, and the importance of our river through a beloved performance — The Dowser Dan Program. Created by Austin Water in 1991 and brought to life by Evan Kelley for 30 years, Dowser Dan has inspired an estimated half million students across Central Texas to become stewards of our most precious resource: water.
As Evan prepares for a well-earned retirement, Colorado River Alliance is honored to carry forward the Dowser Dan legacy.
Our team, led by Programs Director Erica Castillo, has worked alongside Evan and our partners at Austin Water to thoughtfully reimagine and adapt the program for a new generation of learners while preserving the heart, spirit, and educational mission that made Dowser Dan such a treasured part of childhood for so many Austinites.
It is with great pleasure that we introduce Friends of Dowser Dan.
Launching in Spring 2027, in partnership with Austin Water and Austin Independent School District (AISD), Friends of Dowser Dan is a lively and entertaining assembly-based environmental education program designed for kindergarten through 2nd grade students. Offered in both English and Spanish, Friends of Dowser Dan provides engaging, age-appropriate science concepts directly to students in their school cafeterias, libraries, and gymnasiums. Friends of Dowser Dan will create meaningful ‘aha’ moments for our youngest learners as they connect the Texas Colorado River to the water they drink every day.
With bright costumes, amusing characters and engaging music, this free 40-minute educational assembly program instructs kindergarten through 2nd graders on foundational concepts such as the water cycle, Central Texas geography, and everyday water conservation. The program stars a new main character, Dowser Dani, alongside Ripple the Raindrop, a familiar friend who first appeared in Colorado River Alliance’s award-winning 2024 activity book, Ripple’s River Adventure.
At Colorado River Alliance, we believe students learn best when all of their senses are actively engaged. Friends of Dowser Dan reflects our commitment to providing engaging and immersive water science education that creates meaningful, lasting connections between young people and the river that supplies their drinking water.
The addition of Friends of Dowser Dan, alongside the recent expansion of The Mobile River program to serve both 6th and 7th grade students throughout the Colorado River Basin, will allow the Alliance to nearly double the number of students we reach each year, providing ‘aha’ moments to more young Texans.
We’re excited to expand our impact by launching Friends of Dowser Dan to kindergarten through 2nd grade students, expanding The Mobile River program to reach both 6th and 7th grades, and continuing to deliver hands-on water science education to communities from Austin and the Highland Lakes to Matagorda Bay.
For the future,
Adrienne Longenecker, CFRE
Executive Director
Help us thank Dowser Dan
As we celebrate this exciting new chapter, we also want to recognize the incredible legacy of Evan Kelley, whose portrayal of Dowser Dan has educated and inspired generations of students.
Do you have a favorite Dowser Dan memory? Maybe you remember a visit to your school, a Kindergarten student who couldn’t stop singing about how saving water is easy, or a lesson that stuck with you long after the performance ended.
We invite you to share your stories, photos, videos, and messages of thanks so we can celebrate Evan’s remarkable impact and send him into retirement with immense gratitude.