Weird Science

At the Little Man's school, the science fair is for third, fourth and fifth grades. Since he's in third, this was his first time competing. He decided on Tornadoes: Taking Flight, about tornadoes and the Fujita scale.
It was a lot of fun learning along with him! I now know more about them than I ever thought I would!
Some interesting facts:
Tornadoes form when warm gulf air meets cold Canadian air.
There are different types of tornadoes, including derechos, which are strong straight line winds (as opposed to a funnel cloud) that come out of the same type of thunderstorm funnel clouds come from.
While the movie Twister wasn't exactly accurate, the concept of the Dorothy machine was-and actually scientists are using similar ones.
Tornadoes using include hail, which is rain that gets caught up in colder air aloft and freezes. The biggest hail stone ever recorded was found in Vivian, South Dakota in July 2010.
Little Man made a power point of his presentation that rocked my socks! He is so smart and so talented that it's almost scary!
The highlight of his project was a tornado in a jar. This actually was the impetus to study tornadoes. He took a class at the Washington Pavilion on weather, and he was fascinated. As part of the class, he made a tornado in a jar that is too cool.
While he may have not come home with a trophy, it was the experience that counts. He had a chance to talk about his project and do public speaking. He learned to form a hypothesis and find research to support it. He practiced his writing and power point skills. Most of all, he made this mommy super proud!
During the science fair, we had a tornado warning in the area (oh the irony!) but that didn't stop us from celebrating afterwards with apple slices and a cherry limeade at Sonic.

Tornado in a jar

Mason jar
clear liquid soap
vinegar
water
Food coloring


Fill the jar about three-quarters full of water. Add 1tsp of soap & 1 tsp vinegar and a few drops of food coloring. Tighten the lid.

To make a tornado, shake in a circular motion