Seattle Garden Club

The Water Cycle

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by

OYD
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Title: The Water Cycle
Image Credit:  Howard Perlman, USGS. Public domain.
Description: “Let the Magic School Bus: Wet All Over” book take you on a journey through the water cycle, and then experience it yourself.
Season: Any season
Length of Activity: 30-45 minutes
Age: 5-10

They Water Cycle

Have you ever wondered where rain comes from? Or why, on a summer day, your cold glass of iced lemonade looks a lot like it’s sweating?

It’s all part of the hydrologic cycle, another word for water cycle, a continuous circulation of water in the Earth’s atmosphere.

While the amount of water within the cycle remains essentially constant, its distribution among the various processes is constantly changing.

Some of those processes you may already be familiar with, like evaporation, transpiration, condensation, and precipitation.

But in this activity, we’ll learn about all the other parts of the cycle and after learning about it, we’ll see it for ourselves!

Supplies and Tools needed:

  • A copy of the “Magic School Bus: Wet All Over” book ($0.25 used-$5.50 new)
  • If you don’t have access to the book, you can also listen to it here.
  • Small jar lid or soda-bottle caps
  • Zip-lock baggies
  • Masking tape
  • Bowl of water
  • Eye-dropper or carefully put 5-8 drops in a cap

Getting started

Step 1: Before beginning, ask your child or children what they think might happen when the water is warmed. What about when it cools?
Step 2: Then, distribute the materials and put 5-8 drops of water in each lid.
Step 3: Carefully place the lid (without letting the water spill) into the baggie and seal it tightly.
Step 4: Choose a window that gets plenty of sun and place your bag where your child can easily observe it.
Step 5: Leave the bag in the sun most of the day. Near the end of the day have your child observe the bag. What do they see? (Much of the water should be gone from the lid and the top of the bag may look “cloudy”. That’s the water vapor. Ask them what they think happened to the water.

Taking it Deeper
What might have happened if you had left the bag open?
In what other areas do we witness evaporation?
What are some other ways water moves in Earth’s atmosphere?
What role do you think the ocean plays in the water cycle?
How does the Sun’s energy contribute to the movement of water in the water cycle?

Consider following this activity with our Cloud in a Jar activity.

Further Reading
Would you like to take your understanding of the water cycle even deeper?

Further Watching
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA | Earth’s Water Cycle, a public domain video that can be downloaded at: ‪http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/goto?11054

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