You have probably seen weather vanes atop barns, houses, or mailboxes and they are used to show wind direction. Those are usually made of welded metal, but homemade weather vanes are fun, easy to make, and really work well, especially on windy days.
Materials:
- paper plate
- pencil with eraser
- pin
- straight straw (or bendy straw with bendy part cut off)
- construction paper
- marker
- compass
Procedure:
- Cut out a square and a triangle from construction paper.
- Make small slit at both ends of a straight straw. Stick square and triangle into opposite sides of straw.
- Make four marks on your paper plate bottom, at 90 degree angles. Mark them North, South, East, West.
- Stick the lead-side of the pencil down into the center of the plate.
- Stick push pin into center of straw, through the straw and then stick into eraser side of pencil.
- Use a compass to line up your weather vane (align the north arrow on the compass to the north side of your plate).
- Voila! Watch the wind blow your weather vane, discuss direction and intensity of wind.
Go further:
- Does the wind change direction throughout the day? Check your weather vane at different intervals throughout the day and note the wind direction.
- Does the wind blow in the same direction every day? Can you explain why?
