There are many cycles in nature: water cycle, nitrogen cycle etc. This activity helps kids grasp the concept of the water cycle a little bit better than just drawing a picture. My kids were still talking about this days after we did it.
Materials
- quart ziploc bag (don’t used a gallon size, it will just fall off the window, I speak from experience)
- sharpie marker
- water
- tape
- blue food coloring (optional)
Water Cycle Bag
- Draw on the ziploc bag: water line, fish in the water, clouds, sun.
- Add water to the bag up to the water line. Add blue food coloring if desired.
- Secure bag on a sunny window with tape and leave it for a bit.
- Observe and discuss the water cycle:
- Water is heated by the sun and turns into a gas (evaporation).
- When the gas hits the sides of the bag it cools and becomes a solid again (condensation). Note: the droplets will not be blue.
- As the water drops grow bigger and bigger and heavier, they fall back to the earth (rain).
- The cycle repeats again. Water is not created or destroyed. God has given our planet a fixed amount of water that keeps going around the cycle.
*What are some cycles in nature…
Fast Facts
- Water Cycle: movement of water between the earth and atmosphere by precipitation, evaporation, condensation.
- Carbon and oxygen cycle: process where atmospheric oxygen is converted to carbon dioxide by animals (through respiration) and oxygen is made by plants (through photosynthesis).
- Nitrogen Cycle: process where nitrogen is converted between forms in the earth and living organisms through nitrogen fixation and decomposition.