Hands-On Weather Activities For Kids

Science is my favorite subject to teach, and weather is one of my favorite units. I’ve always tried to make science hands-on because reading about science isn’t the same as doing science. Our kiddos need to dive in with hands-on activities.

These are some of the highlights from our weather unit. Each activity teaches an important concept. They’re hands-on and just plain fun. (All of the free downloads are shared at the bottom of the post.)

Weather Activity #1: Cloud In A Bottle

The first free activity is creating a cloud.

As a kid, I’d go to the Y after school. Some days we’d swim in an indoor pool with a wall of sliding doors to the outside.

One particularly cold day, the counselors opened the doors. A giant cloud instantly formed above the pool. It was so cool!

This activity is a lot like that… Just on a much smaller scale.

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Materials Needed

• Clear 2-liter plastic bottle
• Rubbing alcohol
• This unicycle pump
• Safety goggles

Directions

Helpful Hint: This is a great teacher demonstration activity, but it’s probably not such a great activity for little ones to do themselves because of the rubbing alcohol and the coordination needed.

Before you get started, put on some safety goggles. Then, pour a bit of rubbing alcohol into the bottom of the 2-liter bottle. Swirl the bottle around to coat the sides. Some of the rubbing alcohol should be puddled in the bottom.

The next step is to fit the unicycle pump into the top of the bottle. (This bike tire air pump makes this experiment easy because it fits perfectly with the top of a 2-liter soda bottle.) Next, rapidly pump the unicycle pump 20-30 times using one hand to hold the pump onto the bottle top so it doesn’t pop off.

Once you have finished pumping, quickly remove the pump. A cloud should appear.

Explanation

As water evaporates, it turns into water vapor. The vapor travels up through the atmosphere. As it travels, the temperature drops, and the air pressure decreases. As the rising air cools and expands, the molecules of water vapor condense around tiny particles of dust, smoke, etc., that are in the air. The condensing water droplets create the clouds we see from the ground.

Weather Activity #2: Water Cycle In A Bag

Next, The second free activity is an easy way to demonstrate the basics of the water cycle: evaporation, condensation, and precipitation.

Materials Needed

• A gallon-size plastic bag
• Water
• Blue food coloring
• A permanent marker
• Packing tape
• A sunny window or a hairdryer

Directions

First, draw a model of the water cycle on the outside of your baggie. Then, add about 2 inches of water to the bag. Next, add a few drops of blue food coloring to the water.

Seal the bag. Make sure it is totally shut! (If you REALLY want to be sure, you can tape the top edge of the bag shut after it’s been sealed.) Tape the bag to a sunny window with a strip of packing tape along the top of the baggie.

If it is not a sunny day, you can use a hairdryer on LOW to speed things along. Just be sure not to hold the hairdryer too close to the baggie and to keep it moving. Don’t melt the bag!

Explanation

The plastic bag prevents the evaporating water from escaping. It allows the three basic processes of the water cycle to take place in a small, observable space. As the sun (or hairdryer) warms the bag, some of the water turns into water vapor and evaporates. The water vapor rises above the water, which increases the humidity level of the air in the bag. As the humidity increases, the air in the bag becomes saturated, and some of the water vapor condenses back into drops of water. The drops of water collect along the sides of the bag and roll down the bag (precipitation).

Weather Activity #3: Weather Log

Completing a weather log is a classic weather activity. You’ve probably seen at least one version of this weather activity before, But if not, here’s what you need to know.

Materials Needed

• A Weather log
• A pencil
• A thermometer
• A rain gauge
• A weather vane or wind vane

Directions

Complete the weather log by gathering data with your class each day for one week. You will either need the simple weather tools listed above, or you can use an online weather site to complete the log.

The weather log covers one school week. However, you can record the weather over a longer period by simply running additional copies.

Get The Free Weather Activities

Grab ALL of the free weather activities shared in this post below.

Recommended Weather Activities

I’ve gathered all of my favorite go-to resources for teaching weather right here.

• Vocabulary Cards & Puzzles (grades 2-3)
• Weather Instruments Tool Kit Craft (grades 2-3)
• Weather Mini Book (grades 2-4)
• Clouds Mini Book (grades 2-4)
• Water Cycle Mini Book (grades 2-4)

Or, get them ALL and SAVE $$$ with the Weather Activities Bundle (grades 2-4)

Hopefully, you’ve found some ideas you can use in your own classroom the next time you’re teaching about weather. If this post was helpful and you’d like access to my growing collection of free resources, sign up for my newsletter below.