Rain Cloud in a Jar Experiment Shows How to Make Rain

Are you looking for a fun weather science project for the kids? Check out this Rain Cloud in a Jar Experiment! It’s a great way to learn all about how the clouds hold onto and release rain. Pair this up with a fun water cycle activity and you can easily create an entire lesson dedicated to learning all about clouds, rain, and weather.

The kids are going to love this Rain Clouds Experiment!

How to Make Rain Clouds

Rain Cloud in a Jar Experiment

How many times have you been outside and had it to where it just suddenly started raining? Not only is it a fun feeling to be sprinkled on but it’s also a great learning lesson for the kids.

This rain cloud in a jar science project will show them how raindrops from the clouds while giving them a great visual to see and reference.

Once they do the project, you can even have them make their own rain cloud in a jar worksheet where they write out the process that they just saw.

The shaving cream represents the clouds and the water represents the air. The blue colored water represents rain.

Rain Clouds Experiment

What you will need to make your Rain Cloud in a Jar is in this picture below. However, I have it displayed in a recipe list form to print out towards the bottom of the page. Have Fun!

Supplies Needed:

Water
Blue dye, paint or food coloring
Shaving cream
Droppers or pipettes
Clear glass or jar
Tray, mat and or towels to soak up any spills

How to Make a Rain Cloud

Start by filling the water glass ½ to ¾ full, either one will work perfectly fine. Just simply plan ahead for how much colored water you think your kiddos may want to add in so you can avoid it overflowing.

Let the kids help with these steps so that they can be a part of the fun!

Add the shaving cream to the top of the clear water glass or jar, aim for it to be about an inch thick.

Once that is done, it’s time to start with the experiment.

Weather Science

Add some color to a little bit of the water in a separate jar or jars. We did some with a couple of different shades of blue spread out over a few jars.

Take and use the droppers to add a little bit of color at a time to the top of the shaving cream.

Science Activities for Kids

Just like real rain clouds, the shaving cream will try to hold onto the ‘rain’ for as long as possible until they get to be too heavy, and then the blue colored water will start to ‘rain’ down into the clear water in the jar.

Step back and let the kids watch the process. Talk to them about what they’re seeing.

This project is so fun and simple and it’s easy to do over and over again.

For older kids, you can expand this work by talking about the water cycle, types of clouds, and weather patterns.

Making a rain cloud in a jar is a fun and easy way to teach children how it rains.

Our Original Rain Cloud in a Jar Experiment used rainbow colors for the raindrops. It was a lot of fun, but I think the kids got a better understanding by just using the blue for water.

And if you want a free science printable to go along with this experiment you can also download that from the original rain cloud experiment.