Make Weather in Your Kitchen

Ashley Young
July 16, 2012

If you live in the U.S., there is a good chance that your weather has been in the news recently. An early start to hurricane season, record-setting high temperatures, and droughts are just some of the headline-grabbing weather we've seen this summer. With all of this talk about weather, your kids might be ready to learn more. Below are some great weather-related activities to do with your kids. These three activities are very easy, very fun, and probably don't require anything that you don't already have at home.

Make a rainbow. It couldn't be simpler to make a rainbow that is projected on your wall or ceiling. All you need is a clear glass container (a wide-mouth jar or juice glass is perfect), a mirror that is small enough to fit in the glass, a flashlight, and water. Fill the glass with water and place the mirror inside at an angle. Shine the flashlight on the mirror and you should see a rainbow. If you don't, try changing the angle of the flashlight or the mirror (and, of course, turning off the lights will help too).

Make lightning.  Push a thumbtack through the center of an aluminum pie pan turn the pan upside down (the sharp end of the tack should be pointing up through the bottom of the pan). Push the eraser end of a pencil (use a pencil with a new eraser) onto the thumbtack until it stands straight up. Place a styrofoam plate upside down on a table and have your kids rub the bottom of the plate very quickly with a piece of wool fabric (a wool sock works great). Use the pencil as a handle and put the aluminum pie plate on top of the styrofoam plate. Have your kid touch the aluminum pie pan with his finger. Was there a shock? If not, have him rub the styrofoam plate with the wool again. Once he's feeling a little shock, turn off the lights before he touches the aluminum again.

Make a tornado. Fill a jar (best to use a jar with a lid for this one) 3/4 full of water and add a little white vinegar and a little dish soap (about a teaspoon of each). Have your kids sprinkle in a little glitter and close the lid on the jar. Place the jar on a table and twist it (as if you're screwing on the lid, but let the whole jar turn), then stop. The water will spin and create a sparkling tornado in the jar.

Want more weather? Your kids can also make their own cloud or a wind vane to tell them how hard the wind is blowing and from which direction.