Learning about Rain

Rain is very interesting to young children. In fact, many of them wonder where this precipitation comes from. This easy science activity for kids will help you teach them what rain is while spending quality time with your children. At this young age, an introduction to meteorology will help foster your kids' natural curiosity.

Activity Instructions

During a rain shower, surprise your little ones by taking them out to play! After ensuring that there is no lightning, adorn rain boots and jackets and head outside. While playing in the rain, point out the clouds and tell your children about how they produce the precipitation in which they are playing.

Although this young age group may not appreciate the more technical pieces of information you can provide, offering fascinating facts will pique their interest.

Consider sharing the following:

1. Rainwater comes from all over the world, as it evaporates from the oceans, lakes, and other bodies of water.
2. Many different kinds of clouds can form. Each of these clouds is created at different altitudes and tells scientists different things about the atmosphere.
3. Fog is actually a cloud, just one that is much lower to the ground.
4. Watch this water cycle animation on the EPA's website.

If you want to get adventurous, measure the rainwater with a large plastic soda bottle. Cut the top of the bottle off about three inches from the lid and use a magic marker to create a ruler on the side of the bottle. Turn the top of the bottle, which has just been cut off, upside down and place it into the bottle, creating a funnel.

Over the course of the rain shower, show your children how the water accumulates and record it on a rainfall worksheet. Compare your measurements to those of local weather reports to see how accurate your experiment is!

Materials

• Rain boots
• Rain jackets
• A lightning-free rainstorm
• Plastic bottle
• Scissors
• Ruler
• Magic Marker
• Scissors
• Ruler
• Magic marker
• Rainfall Worksheet

Outcome

This environmental science activity for kids allows them to experience weather firsthand and learn a bit about how scientists measure it.