Measuring the Rain:
Make a RAIN GAUGE
When you're in your house, watching it rain, do you ever
wonder how much rain is really falling? Sometimes seems
like buckets? Or maybe it's just drizzling and you wonder if
it's really adding up.
Here's a way to find out: make your own rain gauge!
What you'll need:
• A plastic (soft drink) bottle
• Some stones or pebbles
• Tape
• Marker (felt pen)
• A ruler
Instructions:
1. Have your adult cut the top off the bottle where the
walls are straight. (save the top)
2. Place some stones or sand in the bottom of the bottle.
3. Use a ruler and marker pen to make a scale on the
bottle.
4. Pour water into the bottle until it reaches the bottom
strip on the scale.
5. Turn the top of the bottle upside down and put
into the bottle to act as a funnel, to keep the rain from
evaporating.
6. Congratulations, you have finished your rain gauge.
7. Put your rain gauge outside where it can collect water
when it starts raining. After a rain shower has finished,
check to see how far up the scale the water has risen.
What's happening?
Rain falls into the top of the gauge and collects at the bottom,
where you can measure it. Try comparing the amount of rain to
the length of time the shower lasted, was it a short and heavy rain
shower or a long and light one?
If you want to get serious you can record the rainfall over weeks
or even months, this is especially interesting if the place you live
experiences varying seasons where sometimes it is very dry and
other times it is very wet.
Of f icialKidsMag.com • MAY 2020 • 15
