Rainy Day Science
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With all of the spring rain we have been having this week, I was inspired to do some rainy day science with my kids. We wanted to know whether we could make the rain drinkable by filtering it. Â We were also curious to see how much rain would fall.
How to Do the Rainy Day Science Experiment:
For this science experiment, you will need two identical glass jars or glasses, coffee filters and rubber bands. Â You will also need a rainy day!
On one jar, we put a coffee filter over the top with a rubber band to keep it in place. The other we left with no filter. Â You could set up jars in a few locations to see if it varies.
Then we put the jars outside in our back yard in the rain for about 24 hours. It rained all day and night. The next morning, I sent my son out (in the rain) to get the jars and see the results of our experiment.
There was definitely a difference in the color of the regular water versus the filtered water. The filtered water was much more clear and looked almost drinkable, although my kids refused to try it! Â Would YOU drink it? Â I know I would if I were in need! Â The filter likely prevented things from blowing into the water as well as purified it as it came through.
We also noticed that the jar with the filter over it had less water in it than the one without the filter. This is likely due to water bouncing off of the filter, or the water that was soaked into it that didn’t drop into the jar.
My son also measured the water to see how much rain fell. To measure, it, we put a ruler down into the jar of water to see the depth.
We live in a desert state, so in a day we only got half an inch of rain. I talked to my kids about how when I lived in Florida we would get so much more rain than this. But here, any rain is a good amount. Â We are always grateful for ANY rain.
We had lots of fun with our rainy day science experiments!
See More Fun Science Activities:
Homemade Thermometer Science Experiment
This is a great idea! We have some rainy days coming this week. I wonder how it would work if the coffee filter was dipped inside when attached so it made more of a bowl shape to collect the water. I think I’ll try all three next to each other for added comparison. Thanks for the great idea!