WEATHER
EXPERIMENTS
Make a Tornado in a Bottle
Collect raindrops through 2
different containers...
1 with no cover,
1 with paper filter like coffee filter covering it
Show the dirtiness of the air and how the rain filters it...and why we shouldn't drink the
rain drops until it is boiled or cleaned.
Graph daily temperatures.
Water Cycle-Evaporation
After a rain shower find a puddle of water and mark it with chalk or string. Go back
later
and observe the puddle. Do this several times if possible. Some (or all) of the water
will be gone. Explain that the water "evaporated" a tiny bit at a time
into the sky to form clouds.
Making Rain
Boil water in a kettle or pot until there is steam forming above it. Then fill a shallow
pan with ice cubes. (a pie pan is good) hold it above the steam. The children should
observe that when the steam comes in contact with the cool air from the pan, droplets of
water will form and will fall downinto the pot like rain. Explain that the steam acts like
a "cloud".
*Adult supervision required.
Making a Rain Cloud
Set up a crock pot half full of water and set on high with lid on (away from kids reach of
course). After water has condensed on lid show kids how the lid is like a cloud full
of water droplets. Pick lid up and explain that as the water droplets form together
they get too heavy to stay in the cloud and (turn lid on side) then it rains. After
lid is off, turn off lights and shine flashlight over crock pot so children can see the
"cloud" of evaporation.
Making a Rainbow
Read a book about rainbows or explain that if it rains
and the sun is shining many times you can see a rainbow.
Materials Needed to Make a Rainbow:
Source of bright light,
clear drinking glass,
piece of white paper.
Partially fill the glass with water. Look for a bright beam of sunlight.
Place the glass of water near the light beam. Place the white paper under the
glass. Discuss how the sunlight bends when it enters the water and leaves the
water. This causes light to separate and make a rainbow. When the sun is
brightly shining outside and it rains, the raindrops cause the sunlight to bend and form a
rainbow. Ask students what they see on the white paper .Name the colors in the
band.
(seven colors in the rainbow are violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, and
red. )If possible, go outside on a sunny day with a lawn sprinkler or water hose and
make a rainbow. Then, do a fun art activity like finger-painting their own rainbows.
Temperature
Have students learn to use a thermometer through daily temperature readings.
Sunscreen is Important!
Make cut-outs of a child shape from a dark piece of construction paper.
Cover one with a piece of lighter paper(have it the same shape as the child shape.
Explain that this is like sunscreen protection. Do not cover the other one. Place them in
the sun. Later ,go out and remove the covering and show how the colors are different.
Explain how this shows that sunscreen is important and that the sun is very strong.
The Sun is Very Hot!
Place two chocolate bars on cookie sheets. Place one in the sun and one in the
shade. Keep a watch on the bars to see what happens. Explain that the sun is very hot.
Borax Crystal Snowflake
Grow a snowflake in a jar!
You will need:
* string
* wide mouth jar
* white pipe cleaners
* blue food coloring (optional)
* boiling water (with adult help)
* borax (available at grocery stores in the laundry soap section)
* pencil
Directions:
With a little kitchen science you can create long lasting snowflakes as sparkly as the
real ones. Cut a white pipe cleaner into 3 equal sections. Twist the sections
together in the center so that you have a "six-sided" star shape. Pipe cleaners
and string form a snowflake base for the crystals to grow on. If your points are not
even, trim the pipe-cleaner sections to the same length. Now attach string along the
outer edges to form a snowflake pattern. Attach a piece of string to the top of one
of the pipe cleaners and tie the other end to a pencil (this is to hang it from).
Fill a widemouth jar with boiling water. Mix borax into the water one
tablespoon at a time. Use 3 tablespoons of borax per cup of water. Stir until dissolved,
(don't worry if there is powder settling on the bottom of the jar). If you want you
can add a little blue food coloring now to give the snowflake a bluish
hue. Insert your pipe cleaner snowflake into the jar so that the pencil is resting
on the lip of the jar and the snowflake is freely suspended in the borax solution.
Wait overnight and by morning the snowflake will be covered with shiny crystals.
Hang in a window as a sun-catcher or use as a winter
time decoration.
Evaporation
Add a few drops of food coloring to a pitcher of water. Pour the same amount of water in
saucers, or disposable pie plates. Mark the depth of the water in each saucer. Put the
containers in various places in your room. sunny, shady, on the heat register etc. Predict
which ones will evaporate quicker.Check the saucers twice each day. Discuss what
happened and why.
Make a Rain Gauge
Cut the top off a two liter pop bottle ( about 3 in. down) Cover the edges of both pieces
with colored tape. Put seven or so marks on the largest piece of the bottle with strips of
tape, using a ruler to measure. Put some marbles in the bottom of this to add stability.
This will weight it down. Now insert the funnel upside down into the mouth of the
rain gauge. Pour a little water in the funnel to cover the marbles. This should take
you to the first mark. This is where the starting point of your measurements will
be. Place the gauge outside.
Make a Cloud
Place ice in a metal dish and let it stand until the dish is really cold. Place one inch
of warm water in a large jar. Place the metal dish over the top of the jar and watch, A
cloud will form near the top as the warm water evaporates, rises and then condenses.
All clipart in WEATHER theme by
Lisa's Country Clipart
Isn't she great!
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