Explore weather science with this quick and easy cloud activity. Make a visual model of a rain cloud for young. Perfect for Spring weather theme or home science activity, making a rain cloud is a great simple science idea for young kids.
MAKE A RAIN CLOUD WEATHER ACTIVITY FOR KIDS!
Try this quick and easy cloud activity for fun weather science this Spring! We loved trying this a couple of years ago, so I thought now would be a great time to make a new rain cloud and see what my young learner knows about weather science!
This rain cloud activity is also a hit because it has one great sensory play material involved, shaving cream! Explore weather science with our Spring rain cloud model!
RAIN CLOUD ACTIVITY
YOU WILL NEED:
- some sort of vase or even a mason jar filled with water
- shaving cream
- eye dropper
- liquid food coloring
- an extra bowl to mix the colored rainwater
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HOW TO MAKE A RAIN CLOUD
STEP 1: Squirt a nice fluffy, puffy shaving cream rain cloud on top of the water in your vase or jar. We made a huge rain cloud.
STEP 2: Mix up a separate bowl of blue tinted water. I heavily tinted it blue so we could see our rain cloud in action. Choose whatever colors you want to try for your cloud.
STEP 3 Use the eyedropper to squeeze the colored water into the shaving cream cloud. In the above picture, you can see the bottom of the cloud is quite full of our rain.
STEP 4: Keep adding rainwater to your cloud and watch the storm take shape!
WHAT IS A RAIN CLOUD?
This rain cloud model is an easy weather activity for Spring science and a great way to show how clouds hold water until they can no longer hold it and then it rains!
The shaving cream is a picture of a cloud, which isn’t really light and fluffy like we imagine. Instead, clouds form from water vapor (think of steam coming from a kettle) coming together in the atmosphere.
Adding drops to the shaving cream is like more water vapor coming together in a cloud. In the atmosphere when water vapor cools, it turns into liquid water, the rain cloud becomes heavy and it rains. In a similar way, our drops of colored water make the rain cloud “heavy” and it rains!
Rain Cloud Spring Science For Fun And Playful Learning!
Click on the link or on the image below for more awesome weather activities for preschool.
Looking for easy to print activities, and inexpensive problem-based challenges?
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Click below to get your quick and easy STEM challenges.
Yuliya
March 4, 2015 at 8:30 amWow! What a brilliant idea! My toddler will be so amazed by this 🙂 Sharing on fb and pinning!!
Anna
March 18, 2016 at 1:56 pmI absolutely love this idea! Would it be ok if I used one of these pictures for a school project? It will go up on a website for a hypothetical children’s STEAM library program about weather. I will give you credit, of course!
littlebins
March 18, 2016 at 2:40 pmYes, that’s fine. Glad you like the idea. If it is going to be published on the internet, please add a link to this post! Thanks.
Anna
March 27, 2016 at 11:07 pmI was planning on doing so. Thank you very much!
littlebins
March 28, 2016 at 8:42 amYour welcome!
Debbie
April 30, 2019 at 8:33 pmIs there a book that anyone has used to go along with this lesson?
littlebins
May 1, 2019 at 2:59 pmThis series of science books has always been a favorite: affiliate link: https://amzn.to/2LiQlWn