Have your kids ever asked you why it rains? Making a rain cloud in a jar is a great way to teach them about the weather system and how rain forms. My girls love this science experiment and ask to do it often, especially on rainy days.
RAIN CLOUD EXPERIMENT FOR KIDS
Method
- Fill the jars or containers you are using 3/4 of the way with water.
- Then, carefully add shaving foam to the waters surface so that it resembles a cloud.
- Set this aside, allowing a few minutes for the shaving cream to fully settle on top of the water.
- In a bowl mix a few drops of blue food coloring with 1/4 cup of water. This will act as your "rain".
- Add a pipette or two, and the experiment can begin!
Rain Cloud Experiment
Have kids fill their pipettes or droppers with blue water and squeeze it onto their cloud.
- Inserting the tip of the pipette into the cloud seemed to help the cloud to fill faster.
- Have kids squeeze more and more blue water into the cloud.
- As the cloud fills with water the cloud will become over-saturated causing it to rain inside of the jar.
The rain cloud experiment was a great way to visually illustrate the weather cycle to my girls. We will definitely be making it rain again real soon, and next time we just might use rainbow rain!
The Science Behind the Fun
Read more about the weather cycle & why it rains:
Books I Recommend:
- Weather in Spring
- National Geographic Kids: Everything Weather
- The Cloud Book
- The Everything Kids Weather Book
- Wonderful Weather Box Set
MORE
for
KIDS: