Make It Rain!

Many drops of water together form a cloud. Water drops in clouds can get heavy. Then they fall back to the ground as rain. You can make it rain in your own kitchen. Try this experiment!

Materials

• hot water
• large, clear jar with a wide mouth
• food coloring (red, blue, or green)
• small plate (to hold ice cubes)
• ice cubes

Procedure

1. Ask an adult to heat some water and pour it into the jar.
2. Add a drop of food coloring to the water.
3. Cover the jar with the plate. Let the jar sit for a minute.
4. Look in the jar. Can you see a cloud on top of the water?
5. Place ice cubes on the plate.
6. Wait, then watch what happens.

Results

Do you think the cloud was warm or cold when you started? What happened to the cloud when you put ice cubes on the plate? Did you see water drops on the bottom of the plate? Where did this water come from? How is the rain in the jar like real rain?