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Home » Early Years Science » Pine Cone Weather Station

Pine Cone Weather Station

Modified: Mar 25, 2025 · Published: Sep 21, 2018 by Emma Vanstone · This post may contain affiliate links · 65 Comments

Thank you to Science Sparks for inviting me to guest post on their blog today. You can find me over at Rainy Day Mum where I share play ideas, activities, crafts, learning experiences and fun for babies, toddlers and preschoolers. As a former Marine Biologist and science teacher, I love the ideas that Science Sparks shares and really hope you have fun trying out our Pine Cone Weather Station idea.

pine cones sitting on a windowsill as part of a pine cone weather station

We come back from every walk with a collection of natural finds, and in that collection, there are always pine cones. So I decided to use them and set up a weather station to predict the weather.

How to make a pinecone weather station

Our pinecone weather station is set up on a window sill outside in our garden that we can see from another window inside the house so we can record what is going on with our pine cones each day. I have found out it’s a good idea to attach them to the window with some blu tack or modelling clay so that they don’t fall over as the weather changes, but apart from that, the experiment is set up.

When the weather is dry, the pine cones open up, and when it’s going to rain, they close down. It’s a really fun way for children to start thinking about the future and what the weather will be like.

Pinecone Facts for Kids

Pine cones open and close depending on the humidity to help seed dispersal. Inside the pinecone, there are lots of feather-light seeds. When the weather is dry the pine cone opens up, and any wind will catch the seeds and allow them to be dispersed in the air far away from the original tree.

When the humidity rises and rain is likely, the pine cone closes up to prevent the seeds from escaping. Because the seeds are so light, they will become waterlogged and travel only a short distance from the original source, which would be shaded and have to fight the “parent” tree for resources.

Cerys is a SAHM to two toddlers and blogs at Rainy Day Mum, where you can find lots of fun activities to do with your children, including messy play, imaginative play, baking and crafts.


Image of pinecones being used as a pinecone weather station

Last Updated on March 25, 2025 by Emma Vanstone

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Science Sparks ( Wild Sparks Enterprises Ltd ) are not liable for the actions of activity of any person who uses the information in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources. Science Sparks assume no liability with regard to injuries or damage to property that may occur as a result of using the information and carrying out the practical activities contained in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources.

These activities are designed to be carried out by children working with a parent, guardian or other appropriate adult. The adult involved is fully responsible for ensuring that the activities are carried out safely.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Cerys @ Rainy Day Mum

    August 13, 2012 at 7:44 am

    Thank you so much for letting me post today 🙂

    Reply
    • ScienceSparks

      August 21, 2012 at 10:14 pm

      Thanks for posting Cerys! I love it. x

      Reply
    • Domestic Goddess

      March 29, 2014 at 1:08 pm

      What if you live in a very humid area? Will the experiment have the same effect/outcome? Very Cool By The Way 🙂

      Reply
  2. Carolyn

    August 13, 2012 at 1:28 pm

    Very cool- thanks!

    Reply
    • ScienceSparks

      August 21, 2012 at 10:14 pm

      Glad you like it 🙂

      Reply
  3. Marie B

    August 13, 2012 at 5:49 pm

    How interesting! I have to share this lesson with not only my grandchildren who may already know it, but my great niece & nephew who are little! Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
  4. Constance L Larson

    August 15, 2012 at 2:57 pm

    I’m to be a “First Time” Grandma (Next March) and have been looking for “nature/natural” things to teach and experience with my Grandchildren. I know, I know Little One hasn’t even been born but, the “Old Girl Scout” in me says: “Always be prepared.” Thank you for the information and I would love other information from you or Friend me on my facebook.
    Thank you again,
    Constance

    Reply
  5. Roxane

    August 16, 2012 at 2:36 am

    wow the little things in life are very meaningful and helpful to all of us….thanks for your idea and thanks be to God for all the little things in nature that alot of us know nothing about…

    Reply
  6. maggy, red ted art

    August 16, 2012 at 6:51 am

    Love this! I have noticed out pine cones doing this and never really “register” to explain to the children what is happening! Great post.

    Maggy

    Reply
    • maggy, red ted art

      August 18, 2012 at 5:22 pm

      PS Thanks for sharing on Kids Get Crafty!

      Maggy

      Reply
  7. j

    August 16, 2012 at 12:49 pm

    This is so cool! We will have to try it.

    Reply
  8. Sarah @ Stay At Home Educator

    August 16, 2012 at 8:35 pm

    How fun…plus I never knew! Can’t wait to share this during a weather unit with my kiddies!

    Reply
  9. Giftsoc

    August 17, 2012 at 2:46 am

    How cool is this! I didn’t know this about pine cones. Will pin it and share – thanks!

    Reply
  10. abby

    August 18, 2012 at 6:29 pm

    amazing! how long will they do this for? will they last a few months?

    Reply
    • ScienceSparks

      August 21, 2012 at 10:13 pm

      You know, i’m not sure!

      Reply
    • Cerys @ Rainy Day Mum

      October 20, 2012 at 8:05 am

      We have had ours in the garden for around 6 months now and they are still opening and closing regularly as the weather changes.

      Reply
  11. Bethany @ No Twiddle Twaddle

    August 19, 2012 at 7:16 pm

    That is such an interesting idea for a science activity. Thank you!

    Reply
    • ScienceSparks

      August 21, 2012 at 10:13 pm

      Thanks. xx

      Reply
    • Cerys @ Rainy Day Mum

      October 20, 2012 at 8:10 am

      Yeah glad you like it Bethany

      Reply
  12. Carolyn

    October 17, 2012 at 3:11 pm

    Our pine cones aren’t closing up before it rains. Do we need to take pine cones right from pine trees rather than use ones collected from the ground? Thanks for any tips!

    Reply
    • Cerys @ Rainy Day Mum

      October 20, 2012 at 8:09 am

      Hi Carolyn, ours weren’t fresh from the tree and had been inside for a while before I put them out. A thought about why they may not be opening/closing is if they have been exposed to a high temperature then they will remain open. One of the ways to get them to stay open for displays is to bake them for 30 mins on a low temperature so this could have happened. It’s also very much species dependent and I’ve only had success with the type of pine cones above the ones that are giant or elongated and thin don’t work as well.

      Reply
      • Carolyn

        October 21, 2012 at 1:50 am

        Thank you for the response. We’ll try again with another species. Or perhaps the drought and high temps all summer affected this year’s pine cones. Good projects to investigage!

        Reply
  13. Cassie @ 3Dinosaurs.com

    January 17, 2013 at 1:33 am

    I have a trunk full of pine cones! I have to try this out with my girls!

    Reply
  14. yamile

    March 29, 2013 at 6:31 pm

    I really like this idea. I have just picked up pine cones on Spring Break. I had a few ideas in using them. Out of curiosity I searched yours and LOVE IT. I’m a teacher and look forward to having my students investigate and do the entire scientific research on this.

    Reply
  15. Emma

    September 06, 2013 at 10:34 am

    This is so cool! We also learning that when you put an open pine cone in water in closes up, probably for the same reason it closes up in the rain: to protect the seeds inside.

    Reply
  16. Theres Just One Mommy

    January 05, 2015 at 7:59 pm

    Very cool! We will be trying this in the near future!

    Reply
  17. Debby Shapiro

    January 06, 2018 at 11:47 pm

    Totally amazing. Many thanks!!

    Reply
  18. Betty Goodwin

    November 25, 2018 at 8:12 pm

    So, it depends on the species? All right…I’ll have to find a bunch of different pine cones with my niece and try them all. It will be a nice experiment.

    Reply

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