Rainbow Rain

Learn about the weather and why it rains - with a colorful rainbow twist

Materials

• A clear wide mouth jar, cup, vase or container

• Water

• Food coloring

• Shaving cream

Directions

1. Fill your container about 3/4 full with water.

2. Add shaving cream at the top to create the cloud.

3. Now add the food coloring by dropping it onto your cloud.

4. Watch for your rainbow rain to start falling as your clouds fill with liquid.

adapted from Steam Powered Family

What’s Happening?
Clouds are formed from water vapor that forms into droplets in the sky. These droplets gather together until they become so heavy that they fall down to the Earth as rain. The rain falls due to gravity and is part of the water cycle.

In this experiment, rain is the the food coloring. Add it to the shaving cream cloud, the cloud swells with liquid like a cloud until it becomes so heavy it falls into our water below.