Welcome to the Science Activites Corner! Here you will find some weather activites and links. You will also find information about science fairs, a science olympiads, and invention conventions. These activites include steps, materials needed, and explanations. You can try them at home but make sure an adult is always present. Build your knowledge by learning how meteorologists measure and predict weather and the equimpent they use. Here you can become a meteorologist. Have fun!

Try these links for more weather activites! Make a Thermometer Weather Wiz Kids Lightning in a Pan Franklin's Forecast Web Weather for Kids Fog in a Bottle Cloud in a Bottle A to Z Kids Stuff Weather Wind and Rain Make Your Own Weather Station Weather Experiments

HANDS-ON ACTIVITY #1

WEATHER, SEASONS, CLIMATE
4.2 Meteorologists use many kinds of weather instruments to
measure and to predict weather.
Materials: 2 straws, jumbo paper clip, standard paper clip,
5x8 index cards, scissors, plastic plate

State Goals:
11.A.2b Collect data for investigations using scientific
process skills including observing, estimating and
measuring.
11.B.2c Build a prototype of the design using available
tools and materials.

Safety Considerations: Use scissors with caution.

Science Process Skills: Measuring wind direction.

Procedure:
1. Cut an arrow head and arrow tail from the index card.
2. Tape the head and tail to the opposite ends of a
drinking straw.
3. Unbend a standard size paper clip.
4. Stick the opened-up (pointy) end of the paper clip
through the middle of the straw.jchavez
5. Stick the other round end of the standard clip into a
second straw.
6. Open up a jumbo paper clip and bend one loop at a right
angle to the other loop.
7. Tape one end of the jumbo paper clip to the bottom of an
inverted plastic plate.
8. Push the other end of the jumbo paper clip into the
empty end of the second straw.
9. Blow on the wind vane.

Questions:
1. What do you think will happen when you blow on the
wind vane?
2. How do you think it measures wind direction?

Explanation:
The winds force on the head and tail of the vane causes the vane to point parallel to the direction in which the wind is blowing. The wind forces the tail away from it, because the tail is larger than the head of the weather vane. As a consequence, the arrow head points to the direction from which the wind is coming.

Source:
Moje, Steven, (1998). 100 Science Experiments with Paper: Weather Vane. Sterling Publishing Co., New York, p. 27-28.

HANDS-ON ACTIVITY #2

WEATHER, SEASONS, AND CLIMATE
4.2 Meteorologists use many kinds of weather instruments to measure and to predict weather.
Materials: Printed copy of Hurricane Spiral #1 & #2, pencil with sharp point, scissors, paper fastener, crayons

State Goal(s):
11.b.2c Build a prototype of the design using available tools and materials.
12.E.2a Identify and explain natural cycles of the Earth’s land, water and atmospheric systems (e.g., rock cycle, water cycle, weather patterns).

Safety Considerations: Use scissors with caution.

Science Process Skills: Observing and creating the spiral effect of a hurricane.

Procedure:
1. Cut out each Hurricane spiral on the outside black circle.
2. Color each to look similar to the Hurricane Radar Cirlce.
3. Punch a hole through the black dot in the center of each circle.
4. Cut out all four areas of Hurricane spiral #1 and place on top of #2.
5. Push the fastener through the center.
6. Flip your Spiral over and open the fastener and spin the wheel to make sure it moves freely.
7. Move the top section of your spiral counter-clockwise to see the spiral movement of a hurricane.

Questions:
1. What do the colors on the spiral mean?
2. How do meteorologists use a hurricane spiral to measure hurricanes?
3. What areas have the most rain in this radar image of a hurricane?

Explanation:
The colors in hurricane radar images indicate the amount of rain falling in a given area. Each raindrop reflects the energy from the radar. Therefore, the more raindrops in a certain area, the brighter the color in the radar image of that area. The radar image is really measuring the amount of moisture in the air. The brighter the color on the radar image, the more moisture in the air. The bright red color around the eye indicates the area of heaviest rainfall. The green colored area has a moderate amount of rain, while the blue areas represent the least amount of rain.

Source:
http://www.miamisci.org/hurricane/howhurrwork.html

HANDS-ON ACTIVITY #3

WEATHER, SEASONS, AND CLIMATE
4.2 Meteorologists use many kinds of weather instruments to measure and to predict weather.
Materials: Glass bottle, modeling clay, food coloring, drinking straw, bowl, water, and ice.

State Goal(s):
11.B.2c Build a prototype of the design using available tools and materials.

Safety Considerations: Be careful not to break the bottle.

Science Process Skills: Observing and demonstrating how a thermometer works.

Procedure:
1. Fill the bottle with red colored water.
2. Place the straw in the bottle and hold in place right in the center.
3. Place modeling clay over the mouth of the bottle to hold the straw in the bottle.
4. Place your hands around the bottle for a few seconds.
5. Now place the bottle in the bowl with ice cold water.

Questions:
1. What do you think will happen when the water gets warmer? Colder?
2. Why do you think the water moves upward in the straw?
3. Why do you think it moves downward?

Explanation:
As the air inside the bottle is heated by your hands, the air molecules move faster and need to take up more space. There is space available in the straw if the air could just push the water up a bit and it does. When the water is placed in ice water, the opposite thing happens. The air molecules slow down, get closer, and take up less space. The water in the straw takes up the space vacated by the air molecules and moves down in the straw.

Source:
Hann, Judith, (1991). How Science Works: Making a thermometer. Readers Digest: New York, p. 125.