Here's some science with a twist! Control the elements in this activity that lets your child create his very own tornado in a bottle. All you need are two soda bottles and some water, and your child will be able to see first-hand how a vortex forms as the water moves from one bottle to another. This is the perfect indoor activity to help your child understand what tornadoes look like and how they form.
What You Need:
- Two 16 ounce plastic soda bottles with lids
- Sharp knife (for adult use)
- Plastic film canister
- Super glue
- Food coloring
What to Do:
- Fill 1 bottle with water and add a few drops of food coloring.
- With a sharp knife, cut a round hole in each of the lids. The size of the hole will determine the time it takes for the water to drain.
- Cut the bottom from the film canister about 1/2 inch from the bottom. You will have an open tube slightly shorter than a film canister.
- Remove the plastic rings that are left around the necks of the bottles when the lids are removed.
- Place the 2 lids in the film canister tube so they touch each other in the center. Screw on the 2 bottles. You can make this permanent by super gluing the connection.
- Now your tornado tower is complete! Have your child flip it so that the full bottle is on top. While holding the bottles tightly, rotate the system vigorously in a counterclockwise direction. A whirlpool should form in the system that resembles the tornado’s shape.
In ”real life,” the tornado is the center of a low pressure area and is always moving in a counterclockwise direction in the northern hemisphere. Can your child make this tornado move in both directions?
By Kathy Charner (Editor)
Adapted with permission from "Everything for Fall: An Early Childhood Curriculum Activity Book." Copyright 1997 by Kathy Charner (Editor). Used by Permission of Gryphon House, Inc., Maryland. All Rights Reserved.
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