Week Three - Weather - Science Fun

Three great (and easy - bonus!) projects to get in our science and weather combo. These are so simple you could actually do all three but feel free to pick just one.

First, create a sun print. This is great project for kids to understand the power of the sun. It works best with cheap construction paper. You need three items - cardboard, construction paper, and sun. Find items around your house, or create pictures using the internet. I found you some weather related items here (you know how I am about themes) - print them out on card stock or print them and cut them out and then trace them onto cardboard. Place your items or cutouts on your cheap construction paper and place it in a sunny place. Feel free to place items overlapping in order to make interesting prints (but leave some of the construction paper uncovered or you won't see a difference). Leave it in the sun for a while (you can check it but keep the paper in the same place) and when you are ready remove the objects (or cutouts) and see the pretty prints. Ask your kids - where else do we see the sun's power? (sunburn, burnt leaves, things growing, etc.)

The other two come from Weather Wiz Kids. Your kids will enjoy it because it is giving them power over nature.

Make it rain. This is so simple and so cool. Follow the directions on the website and watch your kids be amazed. You will need hot water, ice cubes, a glass jar (recycle), a plate and white card stock. Talk about how this happens on such a large scale. This is a good time to talk about the water cycle. The link will take you to Kidzone and has a fun way to talk about the water cycle with kids and bonus coloring pages.

The last one you can do at dinner (or whenever you are enjoying a glass of water and it is sunny), make your own rainbow. Make sure you check out the explanation at the bottom of the link to explain the science of it all. Also, this is a perfect time to talk about the colors of the rainbow. Here is an interactive color the rainbow game. 

We had fun with this - after we made our rainbow we drank the water and talked about how there were rainbows hidden inside. I asked Little Man if he thought the water tasted different which lead to a whole discussion about what would rainbows taste like. In case you are interested, he thinks each color would taste differently.