Weather Lab: Science For Young Explorers

The best way to understand the “Three Powers” of weather is to see them in action right on your kitchen table! Here are three experiments to help you discover how the sky works.

Experiment 1: The Cloud in a Jar ☁️

This experiment shows how the “Building Blocks” of a storm work when warm, moist air meets cool air.

• What You Need: A glass jar, hot water, ice, and a can of hairspray.

• The Steps:

1. Fill the jar about one-third full with hot water and swirl it around to warm up the glass.

2. Place the lid of the jar upside down on top and fill the lid with ice cubes. Let it sit for one minute.

3. Quickly lift the lid, spray a small puff of hairspray into the jar, and put the lid (with the ice) back on.

   • The Science: The warm water creates “invisible water” (vapor). When it hits the cold air near the ice, it wants to turn back into liquid, but it needs something to “grab” onto. The hairspray acts like the tiny bits of dust in the sky, giving the water a place to stick and form a cloud!

Experiment 2: Shaving Cream Rain Cloud 🌧️

See how clouds get “heavy” before they start to rain.

• What You Need: A clear glass or jar, water, shaving cream, and blue food coloring.

• The Steps:

1. Fill the glass almost to the top with water.

2. Squirt a big “cloud” of shaving cream on top of the water.

3. Drip blue food coloring onto the top of the shaving cream cloud.

• The Science: The shaving cream is like a fluffy cloud, and the food coloring is like extra moisture. As the cloud gets heavier and fills up, it can’t hold the blue drops anymore. They break through the bottom of the cloud and “rain” down into the water!

Experiment 3: Tornado in a Bottle 🌪️

Practice creating a spinning vortex just like those found in a large storm.

• What You Need: Two plastic bottles (like soda bottles), water, and duct tape (or a tornado tube connector).

• The Steps:

1. Fill one bottle about three-quarters full with water. You can add glitter to act as “debris” so it’s easier to see!

2. Tape the empty bottle upside down onto the top of the water-filled bottle so the openings are touching perfectly.

3. Flip the bottles so the water is on top and give the top bottle a fast, circular swirl.

   • The Science: The spinning motion creates a vortex. As the water spins, gravity pulls it down through the hole, and the air from the bottom bottle moves up the middle. This creates a miniature version of a tornado right in your hands.