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Nature Science Spring Summer

Simple Science: Making a Solar Still

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Have you ever hear of a solar still?  Making a solar still is a very simple science experiment to try with your kids. We made ours with just a few common household items.

Summer Science- Making a Solar Still

The great thing about this project is that it would be useful to know how to do in nature if you had no fresh water to drink or in an emergency situation.  A solar still is an easy way to distill water, using the heat of the sun to create evaporation from salt water or any impure water and turning it into fresh water, leaving the salt behind. 

Simple Science Making a Solar Still

How to Make a Solar Still:

We made a very simpler version of a solar still with a glass bowl, a small glass jar and plastic wrap.

Fill a bowl with water and mix in a few tablespoons of salt until it dissolves in the water. Put a glass jar in the center of the bowl, and push it down. You do not want to get any of the salt water into the jar, so make sure the water is not too full in the bowl.

How to make a solar still

Cover it all with plastic wrap and seal it tight. Put a rock in the center to weight it down and allow the water to fall into the jar. Place it outside in the warm sun for a few hours. What happens is the water evaporates and collects on the plastic wrap. Then with the rock in the center it causes the water to run down towards the jar and pool in the jar.

If you let it work for several hours, there will be a small amount of water in the jar. Taste it, and the water will not taste salty, but fresh. My kids thought this was SO cool!  But they were a little afraid of tasting it.

evaporation

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3 Comments

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Comments

  1. stephanie says

    May 4, 2014 at 5:37 pm

    I had no idea what a solar still was until I read this post! Fantastic!! Thanks for sharing at After School!!

    Reply
  2. Jill says

    May 4, 2014 at 7:01 pm

    This is a great idea! I am pinning!
    Thank you for stopping by the Thoughtful Spot Weekly Blog Hop this week. We hope to see you drop by our neck of the woods next week!

    Reply
  3. Vinny says

    February 22, 2022 at 7:36 am

    Never thought it would be this easy once I heard t was thinking it was something difficult

    Reply

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Hi! I'm Karyn.
I am a former teacher turned homeschool mom of four kids. I LOVE teaching! I believe learning should be enjoyable and engaging. My goal is to ease the burdens of educators by offering memorable learning activities.
Questions? Contact me here: karyn@teachbesideme.com
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