Water Cycle Experiment

This week we will be reviewing the water cycle and conducting a water cycle experiment with our first graders. Here's what we’ll do:

1. Fill a plastic bowl with 1-2 inches warm water. Place an empty baby food jar in the middle of the water. Cover the plastic bowl with plastic wrap.

2. Set a marble on the center of the plastic wrap above the baby food jar. Make sure the marble causes the plastic wrap to sink down a bit in the middle. This will help direct the “precipitation” to go into the jar.

3. Place experiment in a sunny spot for a few hours, or one day. It’s best to do this on a sunny day or set the experiment in a windowsill.

4. Several hours later or the next day, check inside the baby food jar. There will be water.

5. The warm water from the bowl evaporated. Condensation occurred when it hit the plastic wrap, then moved down the plastic wrap to the center due to the weight of the marble, and then dripped into the baby food jar as precipitation.

This experiment can be found HERE and also HERE. Both include using salt water, but it is not necessary. Below is one of our response sheets our first graders will complete after the experiment. Click HERE to get both copies!

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