Storm In A Glass

Safely observe a storm with this easy, at-home storm in a glass science experiment!

Materials:

Mason jars, food coloring, shaving cream, water, and a spoon.  

Time Estimated:

15-20 minutes

Directions:

  1. Fill the glass half full with water. 

  2. Spray some shaving cream on top of the water to fill the glass to ¾ full.

  3. Use your finger or a spoon to spread the shaving cream evenly over the top of the water. The top of the shaving cream should be flat.

  4. Mix half of a cup water with 10 drops of food coloring in a separate container. Gently add the colored water, spoonful by spoonful, to the top of the shaving cream. When the water in the “cloud” gets too heavy, watch it storm!

Think Like A Scientist:

  1. What do you think would happen if you added more “clouds” or more shaving cream to the glass?

How It Works:

The storm in a glass works because of two different scientific principles: density and precipitation.

Density is the measurement of how compact a substance is - how much of it fits in a certain amount of space.

Clouds in the sky hold onto water. They can actually hold up to millions of gallons of water! The layer of shaving cream is our pretend cloud in this experiment. The shaving cream layer can also hold onto water.

Clouds can’t keep storing more and more water forever. Eventually, they get too heavy. When that happens, the water falls out (precipitates) as rain, snow, sleet, or hail.

Precipitation is the action or process of precipitating a substance from a solution

Now when you see rain, you will know what is happening! Meteorologists are scientists who study the weather! Do you want to be a meteorologist?

Looking for more fun at home STEM activities for your young scientist? Check out our workbook full of exciting science experiments and empowering activities! 

Learn more and purchase today!