This is the first of a series of weather science related posts. We are going to start by finding out how to make a rain gauge. I did this a few weeks ago with my three children and they love going outside every day to see how much it has rained. It has definitely helped my 2 year old learn to recognise numbers as well.
Table of Contents
How to make a rain gauge
You’ll need
An empty jar or plastic bottle ( remove labels )
Permanent marker
Tape
Scissors
Ruler
Instructions
There are two ways to make the rain gauge, either by using an empty jar or a plastic bottle.
Jar Rain Gauge
Place the ruler on the side of the jar and mark in cm up the side.
Plastic Bottle Rain Gauge
Cut the top off the bottle, and place upside down inside the main body. Get an adult to help as the edges might be sharp.
Place a ruler on the side of the bottle and mark in cm up the side.
Bury the bottle outside, it should be in an open area and away from any trees which might trap some of the rain. Leave the top sticking out. We didn’t bury ours very well, you might want to put yours further into the ground.
How to record the weather
The important part of recording the weather is that is needs to be done frequently. You should record the amount of rain in the bottle/jar each day and empty out the rain each time.
Can you design a table to record the results?
Free Rain Gauge Instructions Printable
More weather science activity ideas
We’ve got lots more weather science activity ideas here, including making a pinwheel, a storm in a jar and lots more.
I made these with the boys a couple of years back and they loved them. We put the markings on a spoon as they could lift them out to check, which was easier for them
Neat! We did a bottle outdoors to see how much rain… it filled all the way up. Too much rain 🙂 I like this one better, I think we’ll add this in soon. Thanks for sharing.
[…] far we have tidied up a bit, made a rain gauge, moved the compost bin to near the vegetable beds and mowed the lawn in anticipation for our lawn […]
[…] and experiments. You could make a simple barometer and learn about Air Pressure. How about making a simple rain gauge? Don’t forget to record the results and empty it every […]
[…] Use a rain gauge to measure how much rain has fallen. {Science Sparks has instructions for making a rain gauge. The picture below is our rain gauge we made last summer. Rocks are in the bottom to keep it from […]
Cookies are used on Science Sparks so that we may improve our site. These cookies feedback information to our analytics and advertisers. We use the information to track views of the site, where you go and to know if you are a regular visitor or brand new as well as provide a personalised experience where possible. You can switch off these cookies easily if you wish. Follow the Read More link for more information.OkRead more
The Mad House
September 22, 2011 at 3:30 pmI made these with the boys a couple of years back and they loved them. We put the markings on a spoon as they could lift them out to check, which was easier for them
ScienceSparks
September 22, 2011 at 7:54 pmThat is a fantastic idea! Thank you. x
Phyllis at All Things Beautiful
September 25, 2011 at 5:27 pmOh, I want to make this!
ScienceSparks
September 26, 2011 at 2:25 pmLet us know how you get on!
Michele
September 27, 2011 at 7:14 amMy son would so want to do this! thank you for the idea and instructions!!
Liberty
September 27, 2011 at 2:40 pmNeat! We did a bottle outdoors to see how much rain… it filled all the way up. Too much rain 🙂 I like this one better, I think we’ll add this in soon. Thanks for sharing.
Visiting from Science Sunday!
maggy, red ted art
September 28, 2011 at 1:34 pm*One Day* I will make a WHOLE weather station with the kids…
Thank you for liking to Kids Get Crafty!
Maggy
ScienceSparks
September 29, 2011 at 6:12 pmI am trying to make a whole weather station 🙂
Aimee
September 29, 2011 at 12:58 amAlways finding something interesting on your site- love it! Thank you so much for linking up to The Sunday Showcase.
ScienceSparks
September 29, 2011 at 6:11 pmI’m so glad you like it. x
Kim @ Learning Hypothesis
October 2, 2011 at 12:21 pmThanks for the idea. We are started nature study today and this will be a nice addition.
Elvis M. Ives
February 26, 2019 at 11:18 amThis is amazing, I really wanna make this.thanks for sharing this.