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For the past several months, my kids and I have been studying Earth Science using the Sassafras Science Adventures curriculum. (My kids still enjoy this curriculum after 2 full years. Click here for my full unsponsored review.) However, as the school year draws to a close, we've definitely fallen behind on our ACTUAL science experiments to supplement the curriculum. Anything that requires even the tiniest bit of preparation on my part seems to get thrown out the window. Thankfully, this really fun, easy, quick cloud in a jar experiment required almost no preparation at all.

As a research scientist and lifelong nerd, I love anything that gets my kids excited about science. If they have smiles and looks of amazement on their faces while we are doing science, I pretty much consider the whole day a success. This cloud in a jar activity was definitely a win for us. When I told my kids we were going to create our own mini-clouds, they looked at me like I was crazy. Within minutes, they were begging me to do it again.

Although getting my kids to say, "Woah, that's cool!" is always my ultimate goal, it's great if they can pick up a few science-y concepts or learn a few big words along the way. For this cloud in a jar science activity, these are the science concepts I tried to present to my kids. Even if my 6 year old only remembers the first item on the list, I'll be happy. I'm hoping my 8 year old will remember a little more, but at the very least, I know he's gained some familiarity that will serve him well in the future, even if it is just a vague memory.

1. Clouds are made of water.

2. In order for the liquid water on earth to turn into clouds, it has to first become a gas known as water vapor. (A process called evaporation).

3. To form clouds, the water vapor has to collect, or condense, into tiny droplets of water. (A process called condensation.)

4. In order for the water vapor to condense, it needs something to condense onto, like dust (or smoke or hairspray, in our case).

This activity was so quick and easy, we did it at least a dozen times. By the end of the day, even my 4 year old was saying, "Clouds are made by con-den-sa-tion." I don't think he actually understood what he was saying, but it was still pretty cute.

Recommended Age Range: Preschool, Kindergarten, Elementary, Middle School
Time Required: ~5 minutes - most of that time is waiting for the water from the sink to get hot!
Difficulty: Easy - but adult supervision required for the hot water and using a match.
Cost: Practically free
Materials:

Hot water (about 1 cup per cloud. It doesn't need to be boiling...we just used the hot water from the sink.)

A match

3 or 4 ice cubes

Supplies:

A jar (we used a 4 cup mason jar)

A lid (we just used the circle part of the mason jar lid and not the canning ring)

Optional: A small cutting board, pot holder, or other insulating surface if you'll be doing the experiment on something cold, like granite.

Instructions:

1. First, pour 1 cup of hot water into a 4 cup jar. The amounts do not need to be precise. If you have a bigger or smaller jar, simply fill it about 1/4 to 1/3 full of hot water. The water also does not need to be boiling. Hot water from the tap is sufficient. If you DO use boiling water, it will make it harder to see your cloud as the jar will fill with steam and water will condense on the sides of the jar.

2. Have a grown up light a match and place it inside the far. Hold it there for a second or two. Don't burn your fingers!

3. Drop the match into the jar.

4. Place the lid on the jar (it doesn't need to screw on, just keep the water vapor from escaping). Then place ice cubes on top of the lid.

5. Wait for 1 to 2 minutes. (We waited for 2 minutes each time, but there was clearly a cloud formed by about 1 minute.)

6. Observe the cloud inside your jar. If there ISN'T a cloud inside your jar, it probably means you don't have enough water vapor or smoke. Try again, but this time, go a little faster. Try not to give your water time to cool off before you light the match. Put the lid on right away after you drop the match, so the smoke doesn't have time to escape. If you're doing the experiment on a cool surface, you may want to use a pot holder or trivet to keep heat from escaping through the bottom.

7. Take the lid off the jar.

8. Watch in amazement as the cloud escapes from the jar!

If you don't want to use a match, you can try using hair spray. The water vapor can condense onto the particulates of hairspray instead of the smoke. We found our clouds with the match to be slightly more impressive, but the hairspray definitely worked as well. Just remember to be fast when putting on the lid and adding ice after spraying a little hairspray inside the jar.

Enjoy creating your own miniature cloud!

Click here for more Earth Science activities for kids.

Related Links

Chemistry Activities for Kids
Robotics Activities for Kids
Science Activities for Kids

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Cloud in a Jar Experiment - ResearchParent.com

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For the past several months, my kids and I have been studying Earth Science using the Sassafras Science Adventures curriculum. (My kids still enjoy this curriculum after 2 full years. Click here for my full unsponsored review.) However, as the school year draws to a close, we've definitely fallen behind on our ACTUAL science experiments to supplement the curriculum.

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Beckett came home from day care last week with the coolest white puffy substance on construction paper that I had ever seen. It was soft. We couldn't stop touching it. When I asked Beckett what he had used to make it, he said "a cloud."

I went on a mad search around Pinterest, thinking it had to be cornstarch-based. I found some cool techniques, but nothing that looked like what he brought home.

I finally remembered to ask his teacher what it was, and I never would have guessed.
Shaving cream + glue.
Are you guys as amazed as I am with the number of DIY recipes floating around to make cool play/art substances?
Here's what we did:
1. I cut out cloud stencils.

2. We gleefully mixed up the goo in disposable bowls, and dabbed it with cotton balls (and fingers) onto blue card stock paper over the cloud stencils.

3. We squished it, smeared it, dripped it, and blobbed it. Oh my.

4. Free-hand clouds were made.

5. It didn't take all that long to dry- set it aside for a few hours or more, depending on how thick your clouds are.

3 parts shaving cream, 1 part glue. We eyeballed it- it's pretty forgiving stuff.

Here are my other ideas for this stuff: Snow paintings. Snowman. Snowballs. (We'll be making this again in the winter.)
Here's the 'recipe':
Enjoy the mess? Head on over to these messy projects for kids and let them trash your entire house. Lol.

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Easy Art Projects: Puffy Cloud Paintings

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here. Beckett came home from day care last week with the coolest white puffy substance on construction paper that I had ever seen. It was soft. We couldn't stop touching it. When I asked Beckett what he had used to make it, he said "a cloud."

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Make your own anemometer

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Make your own barometer

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What's that rumbling in the distant sky? It's rain! It's lightening! It's a thunderstorm! Tim and Moby investigate these awe-inspiring storms.

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Come out of your basement and click on this weather movie about twisters, the windy natural disasters caused by changes in air pressure and wind direction!

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Do your kids ask you why it rains? Or maybe how clouds happen? Spend an afternoon teaching them with this easy to do science experiment where you and your kids will make a water cycle in a bag!

This is also a great activity for elementary science classes. Imagine your window covered in your student's shimmering water cycle experiments!

Follow these simple, step-by-step directions to create something fun (and educational) with your kids today.

Watch this video to see how it's done:

Step 1: What You'll Need

You need just a few common household items to create your water cycle display:

Step 2: Decorate the Bag

Before you do anything else, decorate your bag!

Use your permenant marker (washable markers will wash right off) to draw a sky in the upper half of your plastic bag. Include clouds and the sun, as they are important elements to the water cycle.

Step 3: Prepare the Water

Next, fill a cup with regular tap water. Then add a couple of drops of blue food coloring to it to make it stand out. Swirl the cup of water a few times to mix the coloring until it's a nice, solid blue.

Now, carefully pour the water into the plastic bag and zip it closed. Make sure it's nice and tight! You don't want any water to be able to escape.

Step 4: Hang Up the Bag

Once your water has been added to the bag and it's sealed up, it's time to hang it up on a window! Pick a window that gets a lot of sunshine for best results. Cut two long pieces of tape and stick them to the corners of your bag. Then, press the tape tightly to the window - you don't want your bag to fall down!

Step 5: Wait and Observe

Wait a couple of hours and check on your experiment. You should see a change in your bag between two hours and 1 day (depending on the amount of sun and the time of day you started).

Eventually, you will begin to see droplets of water sticking to the side of the bag. Some of these will be up high (in the clouds) while other droplets will be on their way back down (like rain).

Why is this happening? It's because the water in the bag is being heated up against the sunny window. That water turns into a gas through the process called evaporation. In nature, evaporated water vapor goes into the atmosphere, but in our bag, it has nowhere to go, so it ends up sticking to the sides of the bag, turning back into a liquid as condensation. That condensed water then slides back into the pool of water below as "rain".

Keep checking back on your experiment a few times a day, or anytime it's sunny to see the water cycle progress!

With some simple materials and a weekend afternoon, you and your kids can have a great time learning about the water cycle together.

If you enjoyed making your Water Cycle in a Bag, try our other Building Up STEAM activities and experiments!

Colors and Chemicals

If you have curious little ones running around the house, or are looking for a fun activity for your lower elementary kids, this is a great way to spend an afternoon they'll ask to do again and again. It's a simple "baking soda and vinegar" experiment, but with an artistic twist!

Homemade Hovercraft

With just a few common items, in under a half-hour you could have a desktop-sized hovercraft zipping all over the place! It's great for a science project, a classroom demonstration, or a rainy day.

Pencil Poke Trick

Learn how you can run a sharpened pencil all the way through a plastic bag filled with water without spilling a drop. All you need are some sharpened pencils, a plastic bag filled with water, and our secret technique!

Levitating Ping Pong Ball

Perform the impossible when you make an ordinary ping pong ball float in mid-air! Learn how to do this super cool science feat in just a few minutes.

Water Density Rainbow

Visually learn about water density with this easy-to-do experiment with beautiful results. By "stacking" sugar water of varying densities in a test tube you can create a stunning display of science in action.

DIY Ice Cream

With just a few ingredients and our technique, you'll be scooping up your own frosty treats in no time. Science never tasted so good!

About Mobile Ed Productions:
Mobile Ed Productions, Inc. has been in business since 1979, producing educational, entertaining school assemblies and hands-on workshops. Based out of Michigan, the company creates, designs, markets and distributes innovative ways to make learning fun in the form of live presentations and interactive exhibits.

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How to Make a Water Cycle in a Bag | STEAM Activity for Kids

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Do your kids ask you why it rains? Or maybe how clouds happen? Spend an afternoon teaching them with this easy to do science experiment where you and your kids will make a water cycle in a bag! This is also a great activity for elementary science classes.

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Make a Tornado in a Bottle - Fun Science Experiments for Kids

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Learn how to make a tornado in a bottle with this fun science experiment for kids. Using easy to find items such as dish washing liquid, water, glitter and a bottle you can make your own mini tornado that's a lot safer than one you might see on the weather channel.