Nature Experiment – Make Your Own Rain Bowl

I have a friend who showed me this rain bowl he made with his kids – an experiment that’s mainly common sense, but it’s not like I would have thought to do it. You might also call this a solar powered water purifier.

This experiment allows kids to see how clean rain happens, even when our planet is not always so clean. The only downside is the plastic wrap. I don’t use plastic wrap for hardly anything. When I do it’s for art projects or experiments like this.

What you need to make a rain bowl:

• A large bowl or pan
• A heavy bottomed drinking glass – clear glass is best, but honestly any cup will work. The cup must be shorter than the large bowl.
• Clean rocks or marbles.
• Muddy water
• Plastic wrap
• Clear tape
• Sunshine

How to make your rain bowl:

1. If you haven’t already made muddy water, simply mix water and dirt. You don’t need much dirt – just enough so that you wouldn’t think to drink it.
2. Put about 2-3 inches of water into the large bowl.
3. Place the glass into the middle of the bowl. If your glass is not heavy enough to sit still in the water, add some clean rocks or marbles to weight it down.
4. Wrap the top of your bowl in plastic wrap. It should be wrapped tight, except for in the very center (right over the glass). This is where the tape comes in handy. Plastic wrap rarely sticks well to anything. You need to make sure it’s taunt, so tape the edges to the bowl.
5. Put a clean rock or marble right smack over the glass. You should see the plastic wrap sink down a bit but if it’s touching the glass, you need to make your plastic wrap tighter.

Here’s a crude drawing:

Sorry, it’s not the best picture. One of these days, I’ll remember to take pictures of these activities. In my sorry picture, the glass is sitting somehow suspended in the bowl. Obviously, your glass will be sitting flat.

How to get your clean distilled rain:

Take your bowl outside and place it in direct sunlight. We left our bowl outside for about half a day (in the bright sun). Now watch and see what happens.

Questions to consider: 

Why is there clean water in the glass, yet still muddy water in the bowl?

In what useful ways could you apply this experiment to real life situations?

Why is this process important for people, plants, and animals on the planet?

To learn more about rain (and find the answers to the above questions) take a look at:

Rain: A valuable resource

The Water Cycle

Learn how to catch and measure one single raindrop