SALT LAKE CITY — The Clark Planetarium has another cool science experiment for you to try at home. Ever wanted to make it rain? Well now you can make a simulated rainstorm in a jar.
First, let’s start with real clouds, which are a visible mass of condensed water vapor floating in the atmosphere. When that mass grows larger and becomes heavy enough, it starts to rain. So, to show how this can happen in a condensed way, here’s what you’ll need.
- One large jar or pitcher and one small jar or pitcher, preferably made of transparent glass so you can see what’s going on inside.
- Some food coloring, the more colorful, the better.
- A turkey baster
- Water
- And a can of shaving cream.
Now to the experiment:
First, fill your large jar or pitcher about ¾ of the way full of water. Be sure to leave some room at the top. This is going to be our makeshift sky.
Second, put water into the smaller jar or pitcher and fill it up. Then add food coloring into that water. Mix in the food coloring with the turkey baster. This will be our rain.
Third, shake up and then pour the shaving cream into the larger jar or pitcher on top of the water or sky layer. The shaving cream will then form your floating cloud layer.
Fourth, take the turkey baster, fill it with your colored water and then slowly start drizzling it above the bigger jar and your shaving cream cloud.
The watered-down food coloring will eventually be too much for the saving cream aka the Cloud to hold and you’ll start to see the colored water “raining” inside your jar.
For more information or to check out other cool at home science experiments go to clarkplanetarium.org.
