Cloud Mobile
Learn about clouds and how they form, then create a model of various clouds at their specific altitudes.
What You Need
For each child:
- 1 stick
- 1 paper with cloud shapes and holes in the shapes
- 24 cotton balls
- 6 pieces of string of different lengths
- Tools: Scissors, glue or tape
Instructions:
What To Do
- Using the Cloud Shapes template, cut out one of the cloud shapes be sure the hole is in the shape so you can put a string through it after. Do the same with the other cloud shapes.
- Glue or tape cotton balls to your paper clouds to make them look like the ones in the photo. You can stretch the cotton balls or pull at them to make them look like the clouds.
- When the glue is dry on your paper clouds, you need to figure out which piece of string to use to hang them on your stick. You want the cloud type that is closest to the ground in the picture above to have the longest string. Which one should have the longest string? That's right, the nimbostratus. Which one should have the shortest string? That's right, the cirrus. Put a piece of string through each of the holes in your clouds so it hangs about the same as in the photo above and tie it to the stick.
- Tie the extra piece of string to the middle of the stick and use this to hang your mobile. If your mobile is too unbalanced, you can untie the strings and move them until it is balanced.
Discovery
Clouds are made of tiny water droplets or ice crystals. In the water cycle water evaporates from oceans, lakes, and rivers and becomes water vapour. The water vapour in the air cools as it rises and becomes water droplets condensation. Many water droplets together make a cloud. If the clouds are really high, they form tiny ice crystals like the cirrus clouds. Clouds are named by where they are found. Stratus clouds are low to the ground, alto clouds are in the middle and cirrus clouds are at the highest level. There are also vertical clouds that are in more than one level like the cumulonimbus cloud you made.
Cool Fact
A cloud that forms on or near the ground is called fog
What's Happening?
Clouds are made of tiny water droplets or ice crystals. In the water cycle water evaporates from oceans, lakes, and rivers and becomes water vapour. The water vapour in the air cools as it rises and becomes water droplets condensation. Many water droplets together make a cloud. If the clouds are really high, they form tiny ice crystals like the cirrus clouds. Clouds are named by where they are found. Stratus clouds are low to the ground, alto clouds are in the middle and cirrus clouds are at the highest level. There are also vertical clouds that are in more than one level like the cumulonimbus cloud you made.
Cool Fact
A cloud that forms on or near the ground is called fog