Science activity
Weather Station Builder
Check the weather each day and record it on a picture chart. Is it sunny, cloudy, rainy, or windy? Draw today's weather!
Materials and setup
- weather chart paper
- markers
- clear jar
- ruler
- paper towel tube
- streamers
- tape
How this changes by age
Pre-K (ages 3–4)
Check the weather each day and record it on a picture chart. Is it sunny, cloudy, rainy, or windy? Draw today's weather!
Steps
- Go outside and observe the weather together.
- Ask: 'Is the sun out? Are there clouds? Can you feel wind?'
- On a weekly weather chart, draw or place a weather symbol for today.
- Feel the air: 'Does it feel warm or cool today?'
- At the end of the week, count how many sunny days, cloudy days, etc.
- Tell a grown-up one thing that surprised you.
- Draw today's sky in a weekly weather journal.
Learning objectives
- Identify and name basic weather conditions (sunny, cloudy, rainy, windy)
- Record daily observations on a simple chart
- Notice patterns in weather over a week
Kindergarten (ages 5–6)
Build a simple weather station with a rain gauge and wind sock. Record temperature, precipitation, and wind direction daily for a week.
Steps
- Make a rain gauge from a clear jar with ruler markings taped on the side.
- Make a wind sock from a paper towel tube with streamers taped to one end.
- Each morning, go outside and check: temperature (warm/cool/cold), wind (still/breezy/windy), sky (sunny/partly cloudy/overcast).
- Record observations in a weather journal with drawings and words.
- After 5 days, look for patterns: 'Were mornings usually cooler than afternoons?'
- Tell a grown-up one thing that surprised you.
Learning objectives
- Use simple instruments to measure weather conditions
- Record weather data consistently over multiple days
- Analyze weather data to identify simple patterns and make predictions
Early elementary (ages 6–8)
Build a comprehensive weather station with thermometer readings, create weather graphs tracking data over 2 weeks, learn about cloud types, and make weather predictions.
Steps
- Set up a weather station: thermometer (read actual degrees), rain gauge, wind vane or sock, and a cloud identification chart.
- Record data twice daily (morning and afternoon) for at least 10 days: temperature, cloud type (cumulus, stratus, cirrus), wind direction and speed estimate, precipitation.
- Learn to identify 5 cloud types and what weather they typically bring.
- Create a line graph of temperature over time (morning vs afternoon on the same graph with two different colors).
- Calculate: What was the average temperature? What was the temperature range? How many days had precipitation?
- Make a 3-day weather forecast based on your observed patterns. Then check the actual weather report — how accurate were you?
- In one sentence, tell a parent or sibling what surprised you today.
Learning objectives
- Read a thermometer and record temperature data accurately
- Identify common cloud types and associate them with weather patterns
- Create multi-variable graphs and use data to make weather predictions
Upper elementary (ages 8–10)
Conduct a meteorological study: collect multi-variable weather data, analyze correlations between variables, study the water cycle and pressure systems, and write a weather report like a professional meteorologist.
Steps
- Build or set up a full weather station: thermometer, barometer (or use an app), hygrometer (or calculate relative humidity), rain gauge, anemometer (or estimate wind speed using the Beaufort scale).
- Record data 3 times daily for 14 days. Include: temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, wind speed and direction, cloud cover (in percentage), cloud types, and precipitation.
- Research: How do high-pressure and low-pressure systems create different weather? What role does humidity play?
- Analyze your data for correlations: Does falling barometric pressure predict rain? Does humidity increase before storms? Create scatter plots to visualize relationships.
- Build a wind rose diagram: a circular chart showing how often the wind came from each compass direction over your 14 days. Which direction is your prevailing wind?
- Research the Coriolis effect: how does Earth's rotation steer winds and storms in your hemisphere?
- Write and 'deliver' a professional weather report: summarize the past 2 weeks of weather, explain current conditions, and forecast the next 3 days with reasoning based on your data and knowledge of pressure systems.
- Compare your forecast to the professional forecast. Write a reflection on what meteorologists consider that you may have missed.
Learning objectives
- Collect and analyze multi-variable meteorological data over an extended period
- Understand atmospheric pressure systems and their effect on weather
- Identify correlations between weather variables and make evidence-based forecasts
Safety and evidence note
Read the full activity before beginning. An adult should supervise tools, heat, food, outdoor work, movement, and experiments as appropriate. Completion records that the activity was done; the child’s explanation, work sample, photo, or demonstration is stronger evidence of learning than a completion check alone.
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