Making A Homemade Thermometer With Kids – Kid Friendly Things To Do .com

After the kids and I learned a little bit about weather, and meteorology, I thought it would be a fun idea to make our own weather instrument. I put in a search for making thermometers with kids and found a tutorial on education.com. You’ve gotta love the World Wide Web! We gathered supplies from around the house, and got started with some fun experimenting! If you want to do a fun and simple experiment to peak the kid’s curiosity, I recommend making this simple thermometer. Here’s what you’ll need, and some pictures to guide you:

You’ll Need:

  • An empty plastic, or glass bottle
  • A clear straw – I used a large malt straw
  • Rubbing Alcohol
  • Water
  • Food Coloring
  • Play-Doh
  • Funnel
  • A tray to protect your surface from the liquids

Now:

  • DIY Homemade Thermometer. Cool science project with the kids!
  • Start off by measuring out equal amounts of rubbing alcohol, and water
  • I only had a little over 1/4 cup of alcohol, so that’s the amount I used. I added the equal amount of water to that
  • DIY Homemade Thermometer. Cool science project with the kids!
  • A funnel is very helpful in making sure the liquid makes it’s way into the bottle, and not onto your counter
  • My liquid amount only went about 1/4 of the way up my bottle – which is about where you want it
  • DIY Homemade Thermometer. Cool science project with the kids!
  • Grab a small amount of Play-Doh to hold the straw in place
  • Insert the clear straw into the bottle, not letting it touch the bottom
  • It should hover over the bottom of the bottle, and some of the straw should stick out of the top of the bottle
  • Secure the straw with the Play-Doh, by wrapping it around where the straw, and bottle top meet
  • Press to seal

Experimenting Fun:

  • DIY Homemade Thermometer. Cool science project with the kids!
  • Pass the thermometer around, and have the kids gently hold the bottom of the bottle without squeezing
  • See if the warmth of their hands makes the liquid rise up through the straw
  • Try rubbing hands together to get them nice and warm, and try again
  • DIY Homemade Thermometer. Cool science project with the kids!
  • Grab a bowl of hot water, and hold the thermometer in the hot water
  • Watch as the colored liquid really rises up through  the straw!
  • DIY Homemade Thermometer. Cool science project with the kids!
  • Add ice cubes to the bowl, and watch the liquid slowly drop back down
  • Fun! Try all sorts of ideas – Hair dryer?, setting it in the sun?, whatever you can think up!
  • Be careful, though – protect your surfaces, and yourselves. If the mixture gets very hot, it might come up through the top of the straw!
  • Here’s the source, and the science behind what you are seeing!

~ Melissa – KidFriendlyThingsToDo.com

 

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