An easy, DIY tornado bottle is pretty exciting for young kids. It’s the perfect complement to a weather science unit too. Hands-on learning about tornados that is safe! Make your own tornado in a bottle. Visit our science and STEM page to find tons of hands-on activities for preschool through grade school.
TORNADO BOTTLE WEATHER SCIENCE ACTIVITY FOR KIDS
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MAKE A SIMPLE TORNADO BOTTLE TO EXPLORE WEATHER SCIENCE WITH KIDS
My son actually enjoys checking out the weather and the temperature everyday! We had recently checked out Otis And The Tornado from the library and he inquired about the tornado bottle we had previously made. I wanted to make a quick one with one of our favorite types of science discovery bottles!
YOU CAN ALSO MAKE THE WATER CYCLE IN THESE BOTTLES TOO!
LET’S MAKE A WEATHER SCIENCE TORNADO BOTTLE!
SUPPLIES
Water
Dish Soap {non-concentrated}
Tall Narrow Plastic Bottle (like a VOS water bottle)
Tornado Stories like Otis And The Tornado {see more choices below}
MAKE A TORNADO BOTTLE
Simply fill bottle and squirt in a small amount of dish soap. Cover tightly. Give a good shake with a roll of the wrist and watch! Please note tip and tricks below!
Tips And Tricks
I grabbed a VOS water bottle, plastic, tall and narrow. I emptied and refilled with water and a little squirt of non-concentrated dish soap. Give a good shake and roll of the wrist and you get a tornado!
WHAT’S THE SCIENCE
We spent some time reading our books and checking out videos on tornados! My son loves to watch and listen, so we have been incorporating you tube videos into our lessons to enhance his understanding of what we are learning. Check out here for more information for kids on tornados.
Sticking with preschool science, we talked about the funnel cloud that forms, the fast moving swirling clouds, the hail and thunder and lighting. We touched briefly on the idea that warm, moist, cool air, and changing winds form the storms that potentially cause tornados.
He was mostly interested in what people do during a storm and what happens to the trees and buildings. Simple things.
Why not make a rain cloud too!
Love the literature extension! We recently got into Otis books!