We know that April showers bring May flowers. But, do your kids know how it rains? If you have a tea kettle and running water, have fun testing this science experiment and discovering the wonder of Earth's natural sprinkler system.
You will need:
Tea kettle
Water
Metal pan or plate
Bring the water to a boil in your tea kettle. Then–carefully–hold the metal pan or plate over the steam coming out of the kettle (you may want to wear oven mitts to protect large and small hands). Watch a cloud form and, if you’re lucky, it will start to rain!
Why it works:
Because warm air is less dense than cold air, it rises. As the sun heats the ground it evaporates the moisture in it into invisible water vapor (humidity). The higher the vapor gets away from the warmed ground, the cooler the vapor becomes and collects (condenses) into millions of super tiny water droplets that are easier for the eye to see—a cloud! The fuller the cloud gets with condensed water vapor, the bigger and fluffier it becomes. (There are many different types of clouds.) After a while, as the super tiny water droplets get cooler, condensing even more, the droplets get heavier, releasing one at a time–rain!
Crazy Aunt Lindsey (CAL) is the creator and host of “Doing Stuff With Crazy Aunt Lindsey,” a creativity web show and website for kids that focuses on easy, economical, and eco-friendly at-home art and science projects. She hails from Morristown, New Jersey and now lives near Red Bank with her cat NuNu.
