Yesterdays experiment allowed the children to observe the effects of evaporation. So we all know that the water disappears when it is left outside but where does it go?
Today we spoke about condensation and the formation of clouds.

Print out or draw a cloud for your children to colour BUT

They must use a blue colour pencil and utilize stippling.
Stippling is the technique of making a whole lot of dots that come together to form a picture.

Tell your kids that each dot they make is a water droplet. You can help them make dots too.
The intention is that they get the idea that a cloud is made up  a “whole lotta water droplets“.

 

To further understand the concept of evaporation, please conduct the following experiment.

Condensation

What we know from the last experiment: Some of the water in the cup leaves the cup if you leave the cup outside.

Question: Where does the water go?

Apparatus:

1. Two matching, dry and transparent cups
2. Measuring cup
3. Tape
4. Water

Procedure:

1. Measure 1/2 cup of water
2. Pour 1/2 cup of water into one of your transparent cups.
3. Make sure your second transparent cup is dry.
4. Place the second cup inverted on top of the first. (As seen in photo below)
5. Use your tape to seal the cups together.
6. Place the cups outside in the sun and leave them.
7. Return to check on your cups at 5:30PM
8. Take a picture of the cups.
9. Observe what has happened to the water and discuss.

Discussion

1. The water rose up from the lower cup to the upper cup
2. The water condensed, forming water droplets on the upper cups
3. With out the upper cup, the water would have gone up into the sky!
4. When water condenses in the sky, they turn into clouds.

We didn’t use two transparent cups. If you don’t have two transparent cups, make sure that at least the upper cup is transparent.