Rain Cloud in a Jar

I knew the thunderstorms were coming. The rain was on it’s way. Before it started, we felt the humid air outside and watched the storm roll in at the river and then did this experiment at home while the sky rumbled and pour water on us. Getting out before the rain helps gets those wiggles out. It also can spark curiosity as kids want to learn more about science, the water cycle, and why it rains. That’s what led me to do this rain cloud in a jar science experiment.

Rain Cloud in a Jar Experiment

🌧 Supplies 🌧

– clear jar
– shaving cream
– blue food coloring
– pipette

🌧 How to make a Rain Cloud 🌧

Fill the clear jar about 3/4 full with water to represent your air. Add fluffy shaving cream on top to act as your cloud. I used gel food coloring and mixed it with some water. Then, use the pipette to add water into your cloud. Just like in nature, when the “cloud” gets heavy and saturated with your “rain water” the blue color will start to drip down, creating the rain! You just made a rain cloud in a jar!

🌧 Rain Cloud Discussion 🌧

We talked about how hot it had been the past few days. I explained that the heat was evaporating water on the ground, which is why the air felt so heavy and humid before the rain. It’s all that moisture in the air (water in gas form). Where does the moisture go? It condenses into clouds and when those clouds get too heavy (like the shaving cream), the water will fall back to the ground as liquid water, also known as rain.

Watch a video of us doing this rain could experiment on Instagram.

Want to learn more about clouds? Read Ela Wild’s take on learning from clouds.

You can find more rainy day activities here.