Rain & Snow

Rain and snow are facts of life – but there’s much more to the water cycle than meets the eye! For example, who knew that 4.2 trillion gallons of water fall on the U.S. every day? From precipitation to transpiration, the water cycle for kids is explained with other mind-boggling figures like these. Kids will learn about barometric pressure and what the dew point has to do with whether it’s going to rain on their parade (or ball game).

Follow the life of a raindrop from formation to evaporation and see just how wicked weather can be when it causes flash floods, mud slides, monsoons, and blizzards. Think that’s just an innocent, fluffy cloud in the sky? Well, think again: Depending on the type of cloud you see, sleet or hail may be in your near future. Learn about how lightning bolts form – and how to avoid them. But the water cycle for kids doesn’t have to be all thrills and chills: Find out where rainbows come from and why each snowflake is unique. Finally, take a closer look at rain and snow’s ugly cousins — air pollution, smog, and acid rain– and investigate the many ways people have tried (and failed) to control the water cycle. Kids can also make their own rain gauges and become snowflake scientists.