Shaving cream rain clouds Follow FizzicsEd 150 Science Experiments: Comments 4 You will need: Shaving cream A plastic cup filled with water A straw Blue food colouring Copyright Instruction 1 Add shaving cream to the cup of water. Fill it up over the brim! 2 Use the straw to collect some of the blue food colouring. Place the end of the straw into the food colouring and then put your finger on top of the straw. As long as you keep your finger on the end of the straw, you should now be able to lift up the straw without the food colouring falling out. This works due to air pressure pushing the food colouring up into the straw. An example of this can be seen in the upside-down water cup experiment! 3 Carefully add drops of blue food colouring on top of the shaving cream 4 The food colouring will slowly move through the shaving cream until it reaches the water layer. At that point you’ll see the food colouring begin to stream out into the water. As the food colouring is denser than the water, the food colouring drops to the bottom of the cup. A simple rain model! 5 Get the Unit of Work on Water Science here! Explore the water cycle Learn about cohesion, adhesion & capillary action From water currents to floatation, join us to explore water science! Includes cross-curricular teaching ideas, student quizzes, a sample marking rubric, scope & sequences & more 6 School science visits since 2004! – Curriculum-linked & award-winning incursions. – Over 40 primary & high school programs to choose from. – Designed by experienced educators. – Over 2 million students reached. – Face to face incursions & online programs available. – Early learning centre visits too! 7 Online courses for teachers & parents – Help students learn how science really works Why Does This Happen? Food colouring is denser than shaving cream and water. As such, the food colouring drops to the bottom of the cup, acting like rain! Rain is a form of precipitation, whereby water vapour in a cloud condenses to form large enough drops to then fall out of the sky. Precipitation can take many forms: rain, drizzle, hail, snow and sleet. It all has to do with relative humidity, which means how much water there is in the air compared to the temperature. Warmer air can hold more water vapour than colder air. If the temperature rises and the amount of water in the air is the same, the relative humidity has fallen. If the temperature falls and the amount of water in the air is the same, the relative humidity has risen. If the temperature of the air falls past the temperature needed for water to condense, the water in the air will form liquid droplets which will fall as rain. We call the temperature that water vapour condenses the dew point. If it is cold enough (below freezing at ground level), these water droplets will rapidly freeze and form snow which can reach the ground if this temperature is below freezing at ground level. Rain is a major part of the water cycle, where evaporating water from water bodies and forms clouds which eventually forms rain to begin the process over again. Variables to test More on variables here Try different food colours If you place shaving cream on another liquid such as canola oil or glycerine, does the experiment work? Can you use a different foam on top of the water such as pea foam or soap foam? Learn more! Working with Water Years K to 2 Maximum 30 students School workshop (NSW & VIC) 60 or 90 minutes Online Class Available Read More Enquire Now STEM Full Day Accelerator - Primary Designed from real classroom experiences, this modular day helps you create consistently effective science learning that directly address the new curriculum with easily accessible and cost-effective materials. Read More Enquire Now Hands-on Kids Science Party >20 hands on science experiments Gigantic bubbles Slime making Professional science show Read More Sale! Chemistry Chaos Science Kit $29.95 $22.95 inc. GST View Details Add to Cart Trustpilot
Use the straw to collect some of the blue food colouring. Place the end of the straw into the food colouring and then put your finger on top of the straw. As long as you keep your finger on the end of the straw, you should now be able to lift up the straw without the food colouring falling out. This works due to air pressure pushing the food colouring up into the straw. An example of this can be seen in the upside-down water cup experiment!
The food colouring will slowly move through the shaving cream until it reaches the water layer. At that point you’ll see the food colouring begin to stream out into the water. As the food colouring is denser than the water, the food colouring drops to the bottom of the cup. A simple rain model!
Get the Unit of Work on Water Science here! Explore the water cycle Learn about cohesion, adhesion & capillary action From water currents to floatation, join us to explore water science! Includes cross-curricular teaching ideas, student quizzes, a sample marking rubric, scope & sequences & more
School science visits since 2004! – Curriculum-linked & award-winning incursions. – Over 40 primary & high school programs to choose from. – Designed by experienced educators. – Over 2 million students reached. – Face to face incursions & online programs available. – Early learning centre visits too!
Working with Water Years K to 2 Maximum 30 students School workshop (NSW & VIC) 60 or 90 minutes Online Class Available Read More Enquire Now
STEM Full Day Accelerator - Primary Designed from real classroom experiences, this modular day helps you create consistently effective science learning that directly address the new curriculum with easily accessible and cost-effective materials. Read More Enquire Now
Designed from real classroom experiences, this modular day helps you create consistently effective science learning that directly address the new curriculum with easily accessible and cost-effective materials.
Hands-on Kids Science Party >20 hands on science experiments Gigantic bubbles Slime making Professional science show Read More
I would like to learn more about science experiments so that I can get the idea for my science experiment. But I love this one. Reply
Great to hear that you liked this science activity! We have a lot of free science experiments on this site to choose from for your project. Just make sure that you include variable testing as part of your experiment as well. There are also pointers on how to make a science poster or a podcast to go with your experiment too! Reply
hi, what grade would you say this is suitable for? also, would this be considered an experiment that can be assessed during the explore phase of the 5E model? Reply
Hi Emma! This activity is great for the primary years, especially as an initial stimulus activity for the water cycle or alternatively it’s very well in a unit on density. It would fit quite well in the engage or explore phase of the 5E model. Reply
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