Miniature Water Cycle

💧 How does water cycle work? Create your own miniature water cycle to watch evaporation and condensation occur in a bag!

    What you need 

    1. Zip-lock Bag

    2. Permanent Marker

    3. Water

    4. Blue Food Colouring

    5. Tape

     

    Step by Step

    1. Bring out your zip-lock bag and permanent marker. Draw the water cycle on one surface of your zip-lock bag. 

    • Older children can label 'evaporation' and 'condensation' on the water cycle. 
    • Younger children can be encouraged to draw a sun and some clouds. 

    2. Add some water to your zip-lock bag and drip in 2 to 3 drops of blue food colouring. Close the zip-lock bag and secure it so the water does not leak. 

      3. Use tape to stick it to the inside of a window that is exposed to lots of sun! 

        4. Observe the bag over the course of your day. What happens to the water? 

         

        • You have just built your own miniature water cycle model! As you observe it over time, you will find that tiny water droplets will start to form on the sides inside the plastic bag. 
        • As time passes, you will find that the water droplets will get bigger and bigger until it drips down to the bottom of the zip-lock bag again! 
        • What we can observe in this bag is a combination of evaporation, condensation, and precipitation, which are processes that occur in the water cycle! 

        What is happening in the miniature water cycle model? 

        Evaporation - As the sun heats up the water inside the bag, the water evaporates. This means that it has turned into water vapour! We cannot see water vapour as it is a colourless gas. 

        Condensation - As the water vapour rises to the top of the zip-lock bag, it cools and condenses back to water, which are the tiny water droplets that we see at the inner walls of the zip-lock bag. 

        Precipitation - As more water evaporates and condenses in the bag, the tiny water droplets will get bigger and bigger until they are heavy enough to flow down the side of the bag. This process is precipitation. We observe this everyday when the raindrops fall from the clouds in the sky. 

        ☔️ Is your little one interested in learning more about clouds, precipitate, and weather forecast? Explore the weather through hands-on activities, science experiments, and DIY crafts with Squizzel Box. Learn more about the Hello, Weatherman thematic box here!