As I looked through weather activities to wrap up weather month, I noticed a lot of rain art activities. It sounds like such a great idea to let the rain create your art for you, but we have a little problem. We live in the desert!
I was not about to let the desert climate get in the way of creating rain paintings. We just to find a way to bring the rain indoors. And we did.
All you need for this indoor rain activity is a set of washable markers, paper, paint brushes or cotton swabs, and water. Rain not required.
For this activity, Peas and Pie began by coloring with their markers.
When they were satisfied with what they’d drawn, we pulled out their paintbrush collection. I gave them each a bowl of water and let them experiment with their indoor rain.
They brushed over their artwork with the water and discovered that their “rain” made their colors blend and swirl.
As the water passed over their artwork, it dissolved and picked up little bits of dye from the markers. Those bits of dye become suspended in the water and travel with the water until they’re deposited somewhere else on the paper.
This is how rain causes erosion. Rain can cause erosion as soon as it splashes on the ground. The splash breaks up the soil it lands on and carries it away. Rain carries away the soil and rocks by dissolving it. Then, just like the dye in our drawing, the rocks and soil are suspended in water and carried off to wherever the water is going.
The rain art was a success and easy to do indoors. What rain art can you make on a sunny day?
Join in the weather learning fun with a bonus activity in the Trailblazer Club Free Library. Sign up for the free library now to get access to the Make a Crystal Experiment (fun facts and printable observation worksheets included). It’s a little bit of weather, a little bit of chemistry, and a whole lot of cool science.
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