Mayfield Electric & Water Systems

Download the Make it Rain! experiment in pdf format

Make it Rain!

This experiment teaches you about the water cycle.  It's a neat trick - - you can make it rain without a cloud in the sky!

What you need:

A two-liter plastic bottle

Scissors

Gravel (aquarium gravel works well)

Potting soil

Peat moss

Two buckets

Two scoop-type measuring cups

Seeds (marigolds work well)

Small plants

Water

Plastic wrap

Rubber bands

Now here's what you do...

1. Use the scissors to cut off the tops of the bottles about two inches down.
2. Mix the potting soil and peat moss in a bucket.  Place the gravel in the other bucket.
3. Place about an inch of gravel into the bottle.
4. Place about three inches of the dirt on top of the gravel.
5. Plant a few seeds about one inch below the soil on one side of the bottle.  Put the plants about an inch below the soil on the other side.
6. Water the plants and seeds. Make sure to give the plants plenty of water.
7. Seal the bottles by using plastic wrap and the rubber bands.
8. Place the bottle in a windowsill or another sunny location. 
9. Watch the bottles over the next three weeks and write down what happens!

What did you learn?

After a few days condensation (water drops) appeared on the lid.  The condensation made the air in the bottle get saturated with water.  Then the water fell from the lid like raindrops onto the plants and soil.  Because of the rain, the plants grew!

The key to this experiment is to begin with enough water.  By watering thoroughly in the beginning you created enough water to evaporate, condense, and fall onto the plants.

This is how the water cycle works!  Mother Nature doesn’t make “new” water  every year.  We use the same water over and over again.  Water falls to the ground as rain or snow, it eventually evaporates back into the air and then falls to the ground again.

That's why it's possible to drink water as old as a dinosaur!

For More Information Contact:

Mayfield Electric & Water Systems
301 East Broadway, Mayfield, KY 42066
Tel: 270-247-4661
FAX: 270-247-0550
Internet: jcre@mayfieldews.com

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Last modified: April 18, 2008
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