JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – While we are practicing social distance and online learning to flatten the curve in the coronavirus pandemic, you might struggle at times to keep your kids engaged. I’m sharing my favorite weather-related activities for kids to break up the day.
If your kids love the Frozen movies- they might love this activity! You can create a “snowstorm” in a jar. The main educational takeaways to go over with your kids is differences in density and forcing mechanisms.
For this activity you’ll need a jar or bottle, baby oil (or cooking oil, any type of mostly clear oil,) water, white craft paint (any water-based paint will work,) alka-seltzer tablet, and optional fun add-ons include glitter and blue food coloring.
There’s a great break down of this activity including pictures here...
- Fill your jar about three-fourths full with baby oil. (This is your relatively warmer air mass of a normal atmosphere.)
- In a separate bowl, blend water and a few tablespoons of white paint. (This is your much colder, far more dense air, ie. a cold front, that will be your forcing mechanism)
- Add as much glitter and blue food coloring to the oil as you’d like, and then top off the jar with your water and paint mixture. (Note how the water completely separates from the oil. Talk with your kids about different densities and what that means)
- Drop your Alka-Seltzer tablet into the jar, take a step back, and watch the snowstorm