Back story: the whole reason I wanted to create a blog was to be a resource for fun weather experiments. I have since compiled lots of other ideas, but this is where it all started! My sister is a fourth grade teacher, so in the future I hope to have her write a post here with some more ideas we can use. She has helped me better tailor my presentations to different age groups to make sure I’m actually teaching them something and can keep their attention.

One way to do that is with hands-on experiments. But here’s a disclaimer: these will not work well with groups larger than 20 students. Speaking form experience here, folks - trust me. These work in small groups and really help keep the attention of younger students. Used well, they can be great tools! Do them in large groups, and you’ll lose everyone because kids can’t see what you’re doing, they’re not getting to do the hands-on part, and they’re so far away they don’t feel engaged in the experiment.

So this will be a recurring theme here on my blog. As I do these experiments at school talks and have a chance to take pictures and video of them, I’ll post more. To get us started, though, let’s dive into everyone’s favorite: Tornado in a Bottle! I’m not exaggerating. This seems simple, but EVERYWHERE I go, this is the favorite with kids younger than high school age.

What you need:

2 bottles of the same size – I used 2-liter bottles, but you can do this with smaller bottles too. The larger the bottles, the easier to see what’s happening inside, so I highly recommend using 2-liters.
bottle connector OR duct tape

Here’s a link to the bottle connectors I bought on Amazon. Nothing here is sponsored, so I don’t get any money from this. There are lots of options on Amazon and even more options on the Internet. These are just the ones I bought, that I can confirm work well.

What to do:

Remove both caps from the bottles and the little ring around the opening. These can sometimes be tricky to get off, so I used a dull plastic knife to wedge under the ring. After stretching it a bit with the knife I could pry it over the grooves on the mouth of the bottle.

2. Fill one bottle 1/2 to 2/3 of the way full with water (see below for a trick to make this even more fun! You would need to add that in this step).

3. Connect the two bottles. Leave the bottle with water in it on the table and connect the mouth of that bottle to the mouth of the empty bottle by turning the empty bottle upside-down and placing it on top of the one with water in it.

If using duct tape, tape the mouths of the bottles together. Tape it very tightly, so water won’t leak out. Use several layers of tape.
If using the bottle connector, screw it on to the bottle with water in it. Then flip the empty bottle upside down so the mouths of the two bottles will be touching. Leaving the bottle with water on the table, rotate the empty bottle to screw it in to the connector. That’s it!

Ways to make this even better:

Add a couple drops of food coloring to the water or a handful of glitter to make the tornado easier to see in the bottle.
If you choose to go the duct tape route, you will need to redo the tape every couple of times you turn the bottles over. It works well, but it’s not a perfect seal, so some water will leak out.

Technique:

You WILL want to practice this before doing the experiment in front of people. I’ve done this thousands of times and I still practice so I make sure it turns out right on the first try.

Grab the middle where the two bottles connect with your hand upside down. If you extend your hand like you’re going to shake someone’s hand, turn it 180-degrees so your thumb is pointing to the gournd. That’s how you grab the bottles.
Grab the bottle, flip it upside down, and swirl in a counter-clockwise motion.

What does this teach us:

I see so many websites that show you how to do these experiments, but don’t tell you how to connect the dots. Yes, this is fun to do and is easy enough for kids to be involved, but my goal is for you to learn something. So what does tornado in a bottle teach us?

Rotation: this provides a clear example that can be repeated as often as necessary to demonstrate rotation of a tornado.
Debris: if you add glitter to the water, you can demonstrate how a tornado lofts debris into the sky. The glitter starts at the bottom of the bottle, but when you flip the bottles and spin them, the glitter will fly all around in the water. This looks a lot like how a tornado can loft debris from the ground into the sky and provides the chance to talk about why it’s so important to go to your safe place when a tornado is possible.
- Where is your safe place? Simply put: it’s the lowest level of your home with as many walls between you and the storm as possible. Avoid windows that can shatter. Bathrooms are generally safer because all the plumbing provides a little extra protection from the tornado. When going to your safe place, take something to protect your head (like a helmet) and shoes so you can safely get out if you have to walk through debris.
- Mobile homes are not a safe place to be in a tornado. You need to be in a structure that has a foundation in the ground.
- You should also know your safe place when at work or school or other places you go frequently.
- Each person’s safe place is different, so if you have questions about where to go, use the contact form to send me a message and we will work it out together.