Storm in a Glass

Materials

1. · Shaving cream

2. · A large glass

3. · Water

4. · Food coloring

5. · A spoon

Instructions:

1. Fill the glass 1/2 full with water

2. Spray some shaving cream on top of the water to fill the glass to ¾ full.

3. Use your finger or a spoon to spread the shaving cream evenly over the top of the water. The top of the shaving cream should be flat.

4. Mix ½-cup water with 10 drops of food coloring in a separate container. Gently add the colored water, spoonful by spoonful, to the top of the shaving cream. When it gets too heavy, watch it storm!

How does it work?

Clouds in the sky hold onto water. They can hold millions of gallons! The layer of shaving cream is our pretend cloud in this experiment. The shaving cream layer can also hold onto water. Clouds can’t keep storing more and more water forever, eventually they get too heavy. When that happens, the water falls out (precipitates) as rain, snow, sleet, or hail.

Extension Experiment

· Try more water and less shaving cream, or less water and more shaving cream. Which one looks more like a drizzle, and which one looks like a downpour?