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Rain Cloud in a Jar STEM experiment for Kids
This rain cloud in a jar experiment was SO epic!
Whoever came up with this – you are a genius!
My kids wanted to try this over and over – and we sure did!
So, how, what, where did we put this simple and easy science experiment together?
It’s easy peasy! And, it only required a couple ingredients.
I’ll be sharing how we made this rain cloud in a jar, what we used and how we learned about how rain clouds form!
Note: Are you looking for detailed instructions on how to teach kids how rain forms? Check out this post here!
Materials:
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How do you make a rain cloud in a jar?
Here are the steps I took to create this, “how clouds make rain” experiment:
Since Earth day was near, I used the colors (liquid washable watercolors): yellow, green, blue diluted in water in three separate bowls.
I added water droppers into each of the bowls.
Then, I set those aside.
Fill one container (we used two) with water leaving a bit of space for your shaving cream/foam at the top.
Then, add shaving cream (picture a milkshake) to the top.
I let the shaving cream sit for around 2-5 minutes so it gets well adjusted to the water.
Then, the magic…
My girls filled their droppers with color and squeezed right onto the shaving cream/foam.
The more they squeezed colors, the more the shaving cream/foam (the cloud) became heavier and in turn caused the colors to come through it and into the water!
How cool is that!
What is the science behind the rain cloud in a jar?
We talked about rain and how rain clouds form.
When attempting a rain cloud in a jar, it is just a simple method to introduce how rain actually forms.
Children can visually see it in action via this small world play activity.
The cloud (shaving cream/foam in this case) is receiving the tiny particles from the lake/ocean and the more immersed it gets the bigger and heavier the cloud becomes causing raindrops to form! 🙂
Rain Cloud in a Jar Science Activity for Preschool
This experiment not only can teach the process of raindrops forming but it also teaches some of the basic skills of early learning!
You can talk about the colors you see as they immerse in water.
Maybe saying something like, “What color is that you are adding to the shaving cream/foam?”
This will in turn be a fun way to learn about colors.
If you are working with two colors, you can practice color mixing.
Let’s say you are using red and yellow, you can learn that these two create orange!
If you’d like the rain cloud in a jar to imitate the color of water or rain, you can talk about clear and blue.
These are all great ways to practice some of the basic skills of early learning with this fun play to learn activity!
Tell me, have you ever made a rain cloud in a jar? How did it go?
Leave me a comment below 🙂
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