Jul 15. 2019
While much of elementary science centers around the tangible and observable, other topics aren’t as easy to capture visually. But Sonlight’s Science C: Geology, Meteorology, and Mechanical Technology tackles a wide array of ideas through both literature and hands-on exploration, bringing science to life. This simple temperature experiment below, adapted from Science C’s Usborne Book of Science Experiments, Volume Three , is a fun and satisfying way for kids to create a thermometer and then use it to demonstrate how heat affects the expansion of fluids.
Gather Materials to Create a Simple Thermometer
In an age where LED thermometers are everywhere, “the mercury is rising” might seem an odd way to say “the temperature is going up”. But the phrase, of course, harkens back to the days of mercury and glass thermometers, when the element’s climb up an enclosed glass tube marked an increase in temperature. Today, the use of mercury in thermometers is quite rare, and many non-digital thermometers use a form of alcohol instead.
But the scientific principles behind why a glass tube thermometer works haven’t changed. And we can observe the same idea in action by creating a simple thermometer with rubbing alcohol, a bottle, and a clear straw.
Materials Needed:
- A clear bottle*
- A clear straw
- Rubbing alcohol
- Modeling clay
- Two large bowls
*This experiment works best with a sturdy, smooth-sided bottle, rather than a thin ridged one.
Instructions for Building Your Thermometer
1. Pour rubbing alcohol into the clear bottle until it’s about one-third full. This is your indicator liquid.
2. Add several drops of food dye so the indicator liquid will be easily visible.
3. Place a clear (or translucent) straw into the bottle and stir gently to distribute the dye. Hold the straw in place in the center of the bottle, above the inside base of the bottle. (Don’t press the straw to the very bottom, or you’ll accidentally stop the flow of liquid.)
4. Use a generous chunk of modeling clay to seal the bottle opening and secure the straw in place.
Make Predictions About the Behavior of Matter
As soon as you finish closing off the top of the bottle, what happens? Once the clay forms a sufficiently secure seal, the indicator liquid begins to climb up the straw, higher than the level of fluid in the bottle. Interesting, isn’t it? The level in the straw is a reflection of the temperature in the room. (If you want, you can carefully mark this level on the bottle with a permanent marker, and label it.)
While this device doesn’t measure temperature numerically, it does allow us to visually see changes in temperature. We’ve already observed the liquid rise up inside the straw at room temperature—this is a good start. Now, let’s start thinking about what will happen in different environments. Use the free printable lab activity sheet here to record your predictions and observations.
Will the water level go up if we place the thermometer in ice water—or will it go down ?
- What about in hot water?
- In a chilly basement?
- Near a sunny window
Using what you already know about energy and matter, stop for a moment to jot down your predictions of what will happen in each experiment location, then begin your tests.
Observe Thermal Thermal Expansion and Contraction in Action
Test the thermometer in a very hot environment. (You can heat water in a tea kettle for this step, but let it cool for a few minutes first. Boiling water might warp or even melt the plastic bottle.) With an adult’s help, pour the hot water into a glass bowl, then carefully place your thermometer into the bowl of hot water. Be sure to hold it in place so it doesn’t turn into a buoy and bob away! What happens to the level in the straw? Jot down your results.
Now fill a glass bowl with ice cubes. Carefully place your thermometer into the cold environment you created. What happens to the liquid level in the straw? Mark the level on the bottle with a permanent marker, then record the result on your lab sheet .
Now it’s time to see what happens to the level in the straw in the various other environments you’ve chosen as test locations. Depending on the spots you’ve chosen, it might take a little while to observe a change. Don’t forget to record your results!
What Scientific Principles Cause a Thermometer to Work?
When you heated up your makeshift thermometer quickly by plunging it into a bowl of hot water, the level in the straw rose rather rapidly, didn’t it? (If your water was very hot, the indicator liquid might even have overflowed the straw!) Why did this happen?
Warm molecules of liquid are much more active than cold molecules. When liquid is heated, the molecules gain energy. This increase in energy causes them to move more —and move further away from each other, too. As the molecules move apart, the overall volume increases.
Although you cannot see individual molecules, of course, you are able to see the volume increase as the liquid level moves up the straw. At room temperature, this is a calm process, since there are usually only subtle variations in temperature. But when the temperature changes quickly—like when you test the thermometer in hot water—the increase in energy and volume is visibly dramatic.
What happens to the molecules in colder environments? You can probably guess, based on your earlier observations. When you place the thermometer into the chilly bowl of ice, the liquid molecules lose energy and slow down. As their motion diminishes, the molecules move back closer together. You see the visible effect of this decrease in energy and volume when you observe the water level in the straw go down.
Thermal expansion and contraction is happening all around us constantly, but we rarely get to observe it. All matter expands when heated—yes, even solids. Did you know bridges are a different length in very hot weather than they are in very cold weather? This is why they’re built with expansion joints to accommodate those differences. (Want to observe another example of thermal contraction? Place a balloon in the fridge!)
Hands-on experiments open up a world of wonder to elementary-aged students, bringing abstract ideas into full focus and bringing invisible concepts into the observable realm. If you like this experiment, get more science activities like it in either Science C full homeschool curriculum or the simpler Explorations in Science kit from Sonlight.
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About the Author
Gina Munsey is a Mexico-born, Eastern Europe-raised missionary kid who ended up in Nashville, Tennessee. A blogger for 16+ years, editor, magazine contributor, co-op teacher, and writer who has only completed four chapters of her languishing memoir, Gina spends her days full of coffee and adventures while helping her asynchronous daughter with Chinese homework. You can find Gina at oaxacaborn.com , or in the middle of [home]school surrounded by stacks and stacks of books.
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Weekly library storytime themes, book recommendations, songs, crafts, and other library programming ideas, some like it hot: experiments with temperature.
For the last week of my five-week Sizzling Science workshop for fifth and sixth graders, we explored temperature.
I started out with a brief discussion of hot and cold, asking the kids what they thought happened to the molecules of a substance as it got hot. They guessed that the heat would make the molecules move around more. At this point, I had planned to do an experiment where I put drops of red food coloring in three glasses of water (one hot, one warm, and one cold) to show that the dye spread more rapidly through the hot water. Unfortunately, the water heater didn’t seem to be working, so I wasn’t able to get any hot water.
Instead I pulled out a hand boiler and passed it around. It’s a cheap toy, but a fun one. In middle school, my friends and I used to have temperature wars with the hand boiler in our classroom. Each of us would hold one end, and we’d see whose hand was warmer by which side the liquid migrated to (I think that was how we ended up breaking the teacher’s hand boiler, and having to buy a replacement: no easy feat in the days before Amazon). I explained that the liquid inside the bottom bulb reacts to the heat in your hand, expanding to run through the tube in the middle, and appearing to “boil” in the bulb at the top. We talked about how traditional thermometers work on this same principle, with the mercury moving up the tube as it gets warm and expands.
Hand Boiler
At this point, I brought out a digital thermometer, and explained that these work with a special kind of electronic component called a thermoresistor or thermistor. At low temperatures, it does not conduct electricity, but as heat is applied, it becomes more and more conductive. A microcontroller inside the thermometer uses the amount of electrical resistance to determine the temperature. I put the digital thermometer in a glass of water, and then added some rock salt. The kids watched as the temperature slowly dropped. We talked about how salt is used to melt ice on the roads, and how we would also be using it to make ice cream. The milk and sugar in ice cream freezes at a lower temperature than water, so ice alone is not cold enough to make it solidify. Adding salt to the ice lowers the freezing temperature, causing it to melt, but also to become colder.
I followed up the salt demonstration with another demo where I put calcium chloride in a glass of water. This time the water heated up several degrees almost instantly. I explained that calcium chloride is also used to melt ice on roads.
Now it was time to make ice cream in a bag. I’ve done this activity many times over the years. It was one of the first library programs I helped with at my first children’s librarian job in Raleigh, NC. But this was the first time I had used it as a science experiment.
I started by showing the kids all the steps, which are:
- Pour 1/2 cup of half-and-half into a small Ziploc bag (I tried to find the yellow-and-blue-make-green kind of bags; but all I could find were the kind with the slider on the top, which unfortunately seem more prone to leaking).
- Add 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla to the bag
- Seal the bag up tightly, and set it inside a large Ziploc bag
- Fill the large bag with ice, followed by several tablespoons of ice cream salt (the recipe calls for 6 tablespoons, but I just eye-balled it)
- Shake the bag, or squish the small bag with your hands, for five to ten minutes until the mixture freezes. The ice cream will be soft, more like a milkshake.
I set up the ingredients on a counter, and had the kids pair up to help each other. One kid would hold the bag open, while the other poured in the ingredients. I helped some of them pour the milk and vanilla (the vanilla was especially prone to spilling). Then they all went to town shaking the bags. A few of the big bags broke (they don’t make bags like they used to), so we did have some ice and rock salt spills, but thankfully no milk (whew!). I gave the kids spoons and straws to eat the ice cream. A few complained that the ice cream tasted salty at first, so I ended up suggesting that they rinse the salt water off the outside of the small bag before they ate it.
Large Ziploc bag with ice and ice cream salt surrounding the smaller bag full of ice cream mixture
That part all went pretty smoothly, except I wish I had thought to bring a dairy alternative. I had one student who not only could not drink milk, but ended up having a contact allergy just from touching it (that came as a surprise even to her mom). Luckily, she had some medicine on hand for the hives, but I felt badly about it. Ice cream needs to have a fairly high fat content to make it creamy rather than icy, and the girl suggested she might try making it with coconut milk, which I thought was a good idea. I actually tried it at home–substituting the half-and-half with 1/2 cup Silk Brand Coconut Milk , and it turned out really well. It does taste fairly coconutty, which may not appeal to everyone, but I bet it would work with Almond Milk as well.
Ice Cream made with Coconut Milk
I had intended to follow-up the ice cream with homemade thermometers, but the ice cream took about 45 minutes of my hour long class. Instead I showed the kids the thermometer, and a number of them took some portion of the materials home. I used the thermometer model described by Mike Calhoun on Education.com: http://www.education.com/activity/article/make_a_homemade_thermometer_middle/ because it seemed less messy than the water thermometer on SteveSpanglerScience.com: http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/water-thermometer-sick-science . But that night I woke up in the middle of the night worried that someone’s little brother might drink their thermometer, which contained rubbing alcohol, so maybe the water thermometer would have been better. Both of them are a bit tricky to transport without spilling.
Basically, both thermometers involve sealing a drinking straw inside a water bottle with modeling clay, with the top sticking out. For Calhoun’s model, you first fill the bottle about a quarter full of equal parts water and rubbing alcohol, and add a few drops of red food coloring. For the water thermometer, you fill the bottle all the way to the top with water, dyed blue with a few drops of food coloring. In both cases, you mold the modeling clay around the drinking straw at the mouth of the bottle, trying to make an airtight seal, while keeping the straw itself open. When you put the bottle in hot water, or hold it with your hands, the liquid inside the bottle expands and travels up the straw (the rubbing alcohol reacts more easily to heat, which is why you don’t need to fill the bottle completely). You can even use another thermometer to gauge the temperature, and then mark that on the side of the straw or on the bottle (with the water thermometer, you can even tape an index card to the portion of the straw that sticks out of the bottle, and mark the temperature on that).
Water thermometer from SteveSpanglerScience.com
Homemade Thermometer from Education.com
I was sad to say goodbye to the kids in the class, many of whom I had become quite attached to. They were a wonderful group, and I’m hoping to see them at future workshops. I was nervous about offering these science classes at first, but they ended up being the highlight of my summer. I’d love to hear other ideas or activities that have been successful in other classes or libraries, so please share them in the comments.
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June 4, 2015
Measure Up with a Homemade Thermometer
A cool science project from Science Buddies
By Science Buddies
Is you home heating up this season? Cooling down? You can track temperature differences inside and out with a thermometer you build yourself!
George Retseck
Key concepts Temperature Measurement Thermal expansion
Introduction Are you sometimes eager to understand how things work? Or excited about making useful objects and instruments yourself? Did you ever imagine you could build your own liquid thermometer? You'll be able to use it to track how temperatures vary with location—indoors or outdoors. What will turn out to be the hottest spot in your home? What about the coolest? Your very own homemade thermometer will be able to tell you!
Background Liquid-filled thermometers have been used for centuries to measure temperature. They consist of a liquid-filled reservoir at the end of a narrow tube. If the temperature of the liquid in the reservoir increases, it expands and rises into the narrow tube. When the liquid cools, it contracts, allowing the liquid in the tube to fall to a lower level. Therefore, high levels of liquid in the tube indicate a higher temperature and low levels indicate a lower temperature. When calibrating the thermometer, the specific temperatures corresponding to the levels of the liquid in the narrow tube are marked on the outside of the tube. Now you understand how a liquid thermometer works, but why does it work?
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Scientists refer to the tendency of matter to change volume as a result of a temperature change as "thermal expansion and contraction." Gases expand and contract drastically. Fluids expand and contract, too, but their volume change is more moderate. Even solids change volume when they are heated or chilled. For example, bridges are a little bit longer on a hot day. The change in volume of solids is too subtle, though, to work in an everyday thermometer. Now that you understand more about liquid thermometers, it's time to get started actually making one!
Clear plastic drinking straw
Fine-tipped permanent marker
Narrow-necked, small, plastic bottle with lid (Small bottles such as those for medicine, food-coloring or vanilla extract work well.)
Rubbing alcohol (Work in a well-ventilated room, and do not leave the bottle of rubbing alcohol uncovered.)
A few drops or red, blue or green food coloring (Liquid food coloring works best.)
Paper towels
Modeling clay
Medicine dropper or syringe
Store-bought thermometer (optional)
Preparation
Empty and wash the small, plastic bottle.
The clear drinking straw will become the narrow tube of your thermometer. Use a permanent marker to make small marks on the straw, from the top down, at half-centimeter intervals. These marks will serve as level marks on your thermometer.
Modeling clay will seal the bottle's neck and hold the straw in place. Mold the clay until it feels soft and elastic; then form a ball and push it flat. This round flat piece of clay should be bigger than the neck of your bottle. Use your straw to punch a hole in the middle of this round piece of clay, just big enough to allow to straw to go through. Remove any clay clogging the straw.
Add rubbing alcohol to the bottle, filling it about halfway up. (Reseal the bottle of rubbing alcohol immediately to minimize exposure to fumes and evaporation.)
Add a couple drops of food coloring to the alcohol, close the bottle and shake it so the liquids mix well. Why do you think it is important to color the liquid?
Fill a medicine dropper or syringe with the colored rubbing alcohol. Carefully set the medicine dropper or syringe aside, preferably on a paper towel in case any liquid leaks out. In case the level of the liquid in your bottle dropped below one fourth of the way up, add a little more rubbing alcohol to the bottle so the level is one fourth to halfway up the bottle.
Poke the straw through the hole in your modeling clay and place the clay on the bottle's neck so the straw hangs in the bottle. Adjust the straw so the end is immersed in the liquid but does not touch the bottom of the bottle. The majority of the straw will be sticking out from the bottle. Why do you think the straw should not touch the bottom of your bottle?
Use the modeling clay to seal the bottle opening and to hold the straw in place. Important: Make sure the clay forms a tight seal around the straw and over the bottle mouth of the bottle, but don't close off the straw's opening. Air should not be able to enter the bottle. Can you think of a reason why this is so important?
Drip the content of your medicine dropper or syringe—drop by drop—into the straw. What happens? Does this fluid rise up the straw and stay there?
Because no air can flow out of the bottle the air pressure inside keeps the level of fluid constant and a column of liquid can build up in the straw. Fluid running down the straw into the reservoir indicates a failure of the seal at the top of the bottle. If this happens, make sure the clay forms an airtight seal at the bottle's neck and around the straw and try again.
The fluid level in the column should reach about midway up the visible part of the straw. If needed, use the dropper or syringe to add more alcohol (uncolored is fine this time) to the straw.
Observe the fluid level in the straw. This level indicates room temperature. Use the permanent marker to make a small symbol indicating this fluid level on your straw.
To test the homemade thermometer, hold your hands around the base of the bottle and observe what happens. Be patient, it might take a little time before the fluid in the reservoir adjusts to its new situation. Does the fluid level in the straw change? Does it change a lot or just a little? Why do you think this happens?
How much will the fluid level change as you heat up the reservoir considerably? Add some medium-hot tap water in a small bowl and place your thermometer reservoir in the water. Give the thermometer a little time to work. How does the fluid level in the straw change? Did it change more than when you heated the bottle with your hands? Be sure to pay close attention and take the thermometer out of the water bath if the fluid rises to a level close to the top edge of your straw. What do you think could cause the fluid to flow over the edge of the straw? What could you change in your thermometer to prevent this from happening?
What do you expect will happen when the reservoir cools down to a temperature below room temperature?
Replace the medium-hot water in the bowl with cold water. Add ice cubes to the water so the water cools to 0 degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit). Place your thermometer reservoir in the ice-cold water and let the thermometer adjust to its new situation. What happens? Is it similar or different from what you expected? Could this measurement help you add a scale to your thermometer?
Take your thermometer on a tour of your home or yard. Remember to give it time to respond to each new environment, keeping in mind there might not be noticeable differences if the temperature is relatively similar in different places. Tip: Look for areas of direct sunlight for warmer readings. Is one spot the warmest? What about the coolest?
Extra: Make a scale on your thermometer (also called "calibrating" the thermometer) with the help of a store-bought thermometer. Could you use the fact that in this temperature range, alcohol expands by equal amounts for each gained degree in temperature to make calibration easier?
Extra: You created this thermometer with a particular straw width. Try to build an identical thermometer, now with a narrower or wider straw. How do you expect the measurements to be different? Will this new thermometer be more or less accurate compared with your first thermometer?
Extra: You used rubbing alcohol for this thermometer. Try to make an identical thermometer, now using water as a fluid. Unlike water, which freezes at 0 degrees C and boils at 100 degrees C, rubbing alcohol freezes at −89 degrees C and boils at 82.5 degrees C. Which fluid would you choose to make a thermometer to measure the temperature in your freezer? What about in the kitchen to cook something on the stovetop?
[break] Observations and results Did you see the fluid rise as you heated the reservoir and fall as you cooled it?
As the temperature of the liquid in the reservoir increases, it expands, and the only place the liquid can go is up the narrow tube. If the temperature of the liquid decreases, it contracts, thereby allowing more liquid to collect in the reservoir. The level in the narrow tube then falls back to a lower level. Once a thermometer is built, each level in the narrow tube corresponds to exactly one volume of liquid, and thus, to exactly one temperature.
A narrower tube (straw) results in a more accurate thermometer because the same expansion or contraction of fluid will cause a rise or fall over a longer distance. As a drawback, the narrow straw might decrease the maximum temperature that the thermometer can reach.
Various liquids can fill the reservoir of a thermometer. How much the liquid expands for each gained degree in temperature as well as its freezing and boiling point are all factors to consider when choosing a fluid for a liquid thermometer.
Cleanup To dispose of the rubbing alcohol in the thermometer, pour the alcohol down the sink with plenty of running water. Flush well so no alcohol lingers in the pipe.
More to explore Thermal Expansion , from Physics4kids.com Balloon Morphing: How Gases Contract and Expand , from Science Buddies Thermometer , from PBS Kids
This activity brought to you in partnership with Science Buddies
Homemade Thermometer Science Experiment
This post may contain affiliate links.
Did you know you can make a homemade thermometer? It is a simple science experiment to try at home or in a classroom with kids. You only need a few supplies.
This homemade thermometer science experiment is a cool demonstration to show kids how thermometers work and to talk about heat and termperatures.
Liquid thermometers have been around for hundreds of years. While most of us now use digital thermometers to take a temperature, liquid ones are neat to study and learn about as well!
Supplies Needed
- Modeling clay
- Red food coloring (optional)
- Clear straw
- Rubbing alcohol
- Small clear bottle with a narrow neck
- Thermometer (optional)
How to Make a Homemade Thermometer
Pour equal amounts of water and rubbing alcohol into the bottle until it is 1/4 of the way full. Add in a few drops of red food coloring to make it more visible and to look like a thermometer.
Put the straw into the bottle and wrap the clay tightly around it and the opening of the bottle. You do not want the straw touching the bottom of the bottle, so move it up and have the clay hold it in place. Leave the top opening of the straw uncovered.
Now you can test the thermometer! Put your hands around it to see if that warms it up.
You get a small reaction with the heat from your hands.
Or place it into a bowl of really hot water to get a fast reaction. You can see when we put it into hot water to rose above the clay!
Now try p utting it into the freezer to see what change happens.
The Science Behind the Homemade Thermometer
Want to know how and why this homemade thermometer works? This is called thermal contraction and expansion. When the alcohol and water mixture gets hot, it expands. This increases the pressure inside the bottle and pushes down on the liquid in the jar. Since the clay has sealed it in, it has nowhere to go but up the straw! When it cools down again. the liquid will return back down the straw.
How hot would it have to be for the water to come out of the straw?
Try to make a scale for the thermometer. Use a store bought thermometer to identify the temperature that the area where the homemade thermometer mixture is. Put a line on the straw where the liquid is, and mark the temperature that the thermometer says. Do this in various cold and hot places.
Want to learn more about thermometers? Check out my Thermometer Math Activit y.
See more awesome Science Experiments for Kids !
Former school teacher turned homeschool mom of 4 kids. Loves creating awesome hands-on creative learning ideas to make learning engaging and memorable for all kids!
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One comment.
Love the idea for homemade thermometers! Just wondering if it would still work with isopropyl alcohol?
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Written by Brenda • Mar 30, 2022 • Leave a Comment
Homemade Thermometer Science Experiment – Making a DIY STEM Thermometer
Kids science experiments are such a fun way to bring science to life. This homemade thermometer science experiment is no exception!
One thing to remember when doing science experiments with kids is that some science experiments are true experiments, while others are hands-on demonstrations of scientific concepts. This particular homemade thermometer is the latter.
This is not a real thermometer that should be used for anything other than a fun homemade thermometer science experiment, that’s it. It’s not meant to detect anything besides showing your child how educational it can be to create their own DIY STEM thermometer at home.
Homemade Thermometer Science Experiment – Making a DIY STEM Thermometer
To make it a real science experiment, you need to form a hypothesis and test variations. Talk to the kids about what they think is going to happen and then discuss all the ways that you’re going to work through it to see if they are correct.
Some hypothesis could be that you need to include alcohol to make the thermometer work, or that a certain type of container is better for the thermometer.
Variations to test could include changing the temperature, changing the type of tube inside the thermometer, changing the color of the water, or changing how long the thermometer rests in the hot water.
How to make a thermometer science project at home
Follow along with this tutorial to find out how you can make a working thermometer that you can use to test the heat variation between different liquids.
This thermometer cannot determine the exact temperature of a solution, but you can use it to determine if one liquid is hotter than the other. Use a digital thermometer to find out the real temperature of each liquid that you test.
Homemade Thermometer Science Ingredients
Just gather up the simple supplies below to make this DIY STEM thermometer.
You will need these ingredients to make your homemade thermometer science experiment:
- A plastic straw (clear works best)
- Small container (we used a small, round, plastic bottle)
- Clay (playdough works well)
- Rubbing alcohol
- Hot and cold water
- Food coloring
How to make a DIY STEM Thermometer
Use these steps to learn how to make your own working DIY STEM thermometer and learn more about how thermometers work.
Fill the bottle with equal parts rubbing alcohol and cold water. Fill the bottle about 1/3 of the way full of this mixture.
Drop a few drops of food coloring into the solution.
Place a drinking straw in the center of the bottle. Make sure the straw doesn’t come into contact with the bottom of the container.
Use the clay to hold the straw in place and seal the opening around the straw.
Fill a larger container about halfway with hot water.
Place the homemade thermometer into the container of hot water.
Wait a few minutes, and the liquid inside of the straw will slowly rise above the waterline inside the rest of the container.
How this homemade thermometer science experiment works
When alcohol gets hot, it expands. This means that when placed inside of a tube, the hotter the tube, the higher the liquid will go. The plastic straw inside the container creates a sort of vacuum so that the liquid rises inside the straw before it rises in the rest of the container.
Traditional thermometers contained mercury, which has a similar effect when heated, but in a more stable, dramatic way.
Have fun creating this DIY STEM thermometer together! It’s such a fun learning experiment!
More Science Experiments:
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Brenda MacArthur is a STEM curriculum writer, STEM author, and STEM accessibility advocate. She founded the site STEAMsational.com in 2012 which offers hands-on STEM activities for kids and STEM lesson plans for teachers.
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Science Projects > Physics & Engineering Projects > How To Make a Thermometer
How To Make a Thermometer
A thermometer shows the temperature when liquid inside it moves up or down on a scale. Find out how it works when you make your own thermometer in this project.
How to Make a Thermometer Experiment
What you need:.
- Plastic water bottle
- Modeling clay
- Clear plastic straw
- Food coloring
What You Do:
1. Put a few drops of food coloring into the water bottle and fill it to the top with lukewarm water.
2. Insert the straw a couple inches into the bottle and mold the clay around it to seal the bottle and hold it in place. When you have a tight seal, water should go up into the straw.
3. Use a marker to mark the level of the water in the straw.
4. Set the bottle in a bowl of hot water. Watch the water level for awhile and then mark the level again.
5. Set the bottle in a bowl of ice and watch what happens, then mark the level.
What Happened:
As water heats up , it expands and becomes less dense, rising to the surface.
When it cools down, it contracts, becoming more dense and sinking down.
This cycle is called convection .
(Water is unique, however – when it gets cold enough to freeze, the molecules line up in an open crystalline structure that is actually less dense than the liquid form. This is why ice floats.)
When the water in your bottle thermometer heated up, it expanded. But since the bottle was sealed, it had nowhere to go but up through the straw.
Real thermometers don’t use water inside because it doesn’t respond to temperature change very quickly. Try filling your bottle with 50% rubbing alcohol and 50% water. Does the liquid move up and down the straw faster? Why do you think this is?
With your homemade thermometer you aren’t actually measuring temperature, just seeing temperature changes.
If you have a real thermometer, you can use it to make a scale on your homemade thermometer: let your bottle get to room temperature and then mark the straw with what the actual room temperature is.
Then set the bottle in the sun and do the same. Mark several different temperature levels and then watch your thermometer for a day and see how accurate it is.
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20+ Temperature Experiments and Activities
In our A to Z Science series for toddlers and preschoolers, T is for Temperature. We practiced using thermometers with investigations inside and outside. This post includes even more temperature experiments for kids!
Temperature and Heat Experiments
Explore temperature and heat transfer further with these experiments that we’ve tried.
| . Do a temperature investigation outside by measuring the temperature of rocks. Practice using a thermometer inside with a simple temperature investigation with water. | |
| . This is a super easy to set up experiment. Learn about how different colors affect heat absorption. Your preschooler can probably handle all of the steps by himself. | |
| . How heat affects things is sometimes difficult to understand. This simple heat experiment shows how heat causes molecules to move faster. {Plus kids think it looks cool.} | |
| . Why is baby bear’s bowl of porridge “just right” when it’s in the smallest bowl? We set up an experiment to find out. | |
| . Which surfaces conduct/transfer heat more easily? We compared metal, plastic, glass, and paper to see which makes a better conductor of heat. | |
| . Aiden posed the question: What will happen if we add water to snow? Will it melt? I helped him set up an experiment to find out. Don’t have snow? . | |
| . Compare how fast candy hearts dissolve in different temperatures of water. Try this experiment with different types of candy. | |
| . Same idea as the candy hearts only this time we used candy canes. Do you have any leftover from Christmas. (We still do.) |
More Temperature Experiments
Here are even more temperature and heat experiments from around the web that look great!
Explore the density of different temperatures of water in this water balloon investigation from Science Sparks.
How do polar animals stay warm? Rainy Day Mum investigates types of insulation in this fun activity.
Make a solar oven and explore conduction. Which type of materials/colors work the best? (from Science Sparks.)
Here’s a sun vs. shade temperature experiment from A Mom with a Lesson Plan.
Explore convection currents with water. (from Learn Play Imagine)
Learn about the science of tea and discover the impact different water temperatures have in this investigation from Planet Smarty Pants.
Make your own thermometer with these instructions from What Do We Do All Day?
Or make a practice thermometer with this printable from Kids Activities Blog.
Try this ice experiment from Reading Confetti. Which ice cube will melt first?
A Mom with a Lesson Plan experiments with how to boil an egg . Explore how heat affects an egg.
Gift of Curiosity uses thermic glasses to explore the sense of touch and learn about temperature.
Can a cricket be used as a thermometer? Conduct an experiment to find out. (from Scientific American)
Are mittens warm? Classroom Magic shares a lesson in heat and insulation. Pair this activity with Jan Brett’s The Mitten .
Do you have any temperature experiments? Leave a link in the comments. I’d love to check them out!
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Building a Thermometer
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Students will construct a soda-bottle thermometer that is based on the principle that most substances expand and contract as their temperatures change. This experiment also demonstrates the principle of heat transfer.
This activity is brought to you by a partnership with NASA and The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) program through NASA’s Science Activation program.
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Stem thermometer challenge: understanding temperature measurement.
Grade Level: 6th to 8th
Subject: Science
By the end of this lesson, students will understand the principles behind temperature measurement, learn about different types of thermometers, and engage in a hands-on activity to build their own thermometer.
Materials Needed
Thermometers (any available types)
Cups of water at different temperatures (hot, cold, room temperature)
Worksheet or piece of paper for recording observations
Introduction (10 minutes)
Today, we're diving into temperature measurement with our STEM Thermometer Challenge. Have you ever wondered how we measure how hot or cold it is accurately? Well, get ready to find out.
Let's kick things off by discussing temperature. What comes to mind when you think of temperature? Ice cream melting on a hot summer day? Hot cocoa warming you up in the winter? Temperature affects our daily lives in so many ways.
Ask your students: How do we measure temperature? Have a brief discussion to gather their thoughts.
Understanding Temperature (15 minutes)
Alright, let's break it down. Imagine temperature as a scale that tells us how hot or cold something is, just like a volume knob on a stereo tells us how loud the music is.
Temperature is like a language that objects and substances speak to us. When something is hot, its molecules are moving fast, while cold things have slower, more sluggish molecules.
Now, let's talk about different types of thermometers. We have digital thermometers, mercury thermometers, alcohol thermometers, and many more. They may function differently, but they all help us measure temperature.
Show your students the thermometers your classroom has access to. Answer any questions your students may have.
Activity: Building Your Own Thermometer (30 minutes)
Are you ready for some hands-on fun? We're going to build our own thermometers.
Provide your students with the following instructions:
Select a clear plastic straw.
Using a marker, mark lines at regular intervals, such as every centimeter, to create a scale.
Label the scale with Celsius temperature values. 1 cm = 1 degree Celsius.
Observation and Data Collection (15 minutes)
Once the thermometers are built, it's time to put them to the test. Provide your students with the following instructions:
Place cups of water at different temperatures in front of each group: hot, cold, and room temperature.
Fill your straw with water by submerging the straw into a cup of water.
Seal the straw with your finger to trap water inside.
Carefully remove the straw from the cup.
While holding the open end with your finger, flip the straw and position it vertically so the water doesn't spill out.
Observe the water level inside the straw. Depending on the temperature, the water level will rise or fall.
As the temperature increases, the water inside the straw will expand, causing the level to rise.
As the temperature decreases, the water will contract, causing the level to fall.
Have students observe and record the water level inside their thermometers for each cup of water on a piece of paper or a worksheet.
Ask your students to discuss with their group how temperature affects the volume of water inside the straw and how this principle is used in traditional thermometers.
Conclusion and Discussion (15 minutes)
Now that we've completed our STEM Thermometer Challenge let's reflect on what we've learned.
Ask your students: What did you discover about temperature measurement? How do different types of thermometers work? Why is it important to accurately measure temperature in various situations?
Encourage students to share their observations and insights with the class. Highlight the practical applications of temperature measurement in everyday life, such as weather forecasting, cooking, and scientific research.
Homework (Optional)
Research and write one paragraph about the history of thermometers and how temperature measurement has evolved.
Conduct experiments at home using your straw thermometer to explore how temperature affects different materials and substances.
Assess students based on their participation in discussions, engagement in the hands-on activity, and understanding of temperature measurement.
In conducting the STEM Thermometer Challenge activity, ensure all your students feel included and able to participate to the best of their abilities.
Accessibility: Consider the needs of your students, including those with physical disabilities or sensory sensitivities. Provide alternative materials or adaptations as necessary to accommodate individual differences. For example, if a student cannot make their own thermometer, allow them to use a classroom thermometer to help check the accuracy of the straw thermometers.
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  Fun Thermometer Science Experiment for KidsOne day my son and I were watching the Temperature Investigation episode of Sid the Science Kid cartoon. Cory was two-years-old the first time he watched it. After the episode ended, we decided to do the science experiment showcased on the cartoon. My son learned a lot about thermometers and temperature change during this activity. Fall is coming soon and our children will witness a drop in temperature. Do this simple experiment at home to help your child learn about temperature changes in nature. I am pretty sure you have all the materials in your kitchen. Let’s Get Started! Materials Needed:
Watch the video below to see our experiment.Have fun with this activity, explain to your child how a real thermometer works.
OUR KID FRIENDLY FAST & FUN STUDY TRICKS FOR BETTER GRADES: 9 FUN STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS IN LEARNING AND SCHOOL HAS $29 OFF THE ORIGINAL PRICE. Our books are available on Amazon, “Teach Your Toddler to Read Through Play,” “Fun Easy Ways to Teach Your Toddler to Write , and “Teach Your Child About Money Through Play. “ THE TEACH YOUR TODDLER TO READ THROUGH PLAY ONLINE COURSE HAS A $97 DISCOUNT. Click here for the PAYMENT PLAN OPTION! Share this: Published by simplyoutrageousyouthView all posts by simplyoutrageousyouth 14 thoughts on “ Fun Thermometer Science Experiment for Kids ”I don’t have kids old enough for this, but it definitely looks fun! Thanks for the idea! LOL! Yes this a fun experiment for adults! Thank you for your comment1 awesome experiment, i will have to try this with my son, he loves all science related activities and what a cool way to demonstrate temperature changes Oh good! I hope your son enjoys this activity! This is awesome! So easy and simple; I’ll have to remember this for when my babe gets a bit older. I am glad you like this! Yes it was fun and simple! This is such a great activity! I’ll be doing it with my nieces for sure! Oh goood!! I hope your nieces have fun with this! This is super cool. I can’t wait to try this over the weekend. With my kids of course 😉 Thanks for sharing! I hope they have fun with this experiment! I love that you were took what you saw on tv and brought it into real life for you kid! That’s how kiddos learn and understand the world they live in. What a fun experiment. Can’t wait to try it with my kids 🙂 Thank you Adriane for your comment. I hope your kids like this activity! How fun!!! Love it!! Thank you Lisa! Leave a Reply Cancel replyDiscover more from. Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive. Continue reading Playing With Rain Explore the World Around You in Instagram Feed · Kids Science Experiments · Weather Science Bottle Thermometer ExperimentShare with your friends! This super fun weather experiment will help any kid become a meteorologist by making their own thermometer that measures the temperature! Let’s get started with this bottle thermometer experiment! Get more fun and educational Experiments With Rubbing Alcohol here!  Kids will love watching the fluid inside their thermometer rise as the temperature climbs, and drop as the temperature falls!  Table of Contents This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Supplies Needed:
 How To Make A Bottle Thermometer
Step 1: Fill A Bottle 1/3 Full With WaterFinding the right type of bottle is sometimes the hardest part of doing this experiment. You need a narrow neck glass bottle that is clear to allow you to see the fluid rising in the straw inside. Coca-Cola and other soft drink companies do make some glass bottles that work great for this bottle thermometer experiment. Once you find a bottle that will work, make sure it is clean and empty, and then fill it about one third of the way with some water.  Step 2: Pour Some Rubbing Alcohol Into The BottleNow add about the same amount of rubbing alcohol into the bottle as you did water. This should bring the half water and half rubbing alcohol mixture to about two thirds of the way to the top of the bottle.  Note: You can do this with just water, but the rubbing alcohol lowers the freezing temperature of the fluid. This will help keep the thermometer working in colder temperatures! Step 3: Add Food Coloring And Mix It UpPut a few drops of red food coloring into the bottle and shake it up and little bit.  The food coloring will make the fluid inside the bottle look more realistic and give the appearance of mercury used in a real thermometer. Step 4: Secure A Straw In The OpeningNow grab a clear plastic straw and stick it into the top opening of the bottle. Keep the straw from falling all the way into the bottle while securing the straw to the opening of the bottle with some modeling clay.  Leave 2 or 3 inches of the straw poking out of the top of the bottle with the bottom of the straw below the fluid level. Just make sure the bottom of the straw is not touching the bottom of the bottle. Double-check the modeling clay at the top of the bottle to make sure it is sealed airtight around the straw. It won’t work if there are any leaks.  Step 5: Set The Bottle In Hot WaterIt’s time to put our homemade thermometer to the test in some hot water! With the help of an adult, fill a large bowl with some very very hot water! The hotter you can get the water the better this will work, but be very careful not to burn anybody! Now gently set the bottle thermometer into the bowl of hot water and watch as the red fluid inside slowly rises higher and higher in the straw!  It will take a few minutes for the water to get to its highest point, but it will continue to rise until the water inside the bottle has warmed up to the temperature of the water in the bowl. Step 6: Set The Bottle In Cold WaterOnce the red fluid has almost reached the top of the straw, gently move the bottle thermometer from the hot water bowl to the cold water bowl. Again, you want the cold water to be as icy and cold as possible to make the fluid drop faster in the thermometer. Within a couple minutes the red fluid in the bottle thermometer will start to drop!  When the fluid inside the bottle has cooled to the same temperature as the cold water in the bowl, the fluid in the straw will be level with the fluid in the bottle again. Homemade Thermometer ExplanationThe science behind how this bottle thermometer experiment works is very similar to our Hot and Cold Balloon Experiment we did too! Our homemade thermometer works in the same way that a real thermometer does to tell us the temperature! As the water and rubbing alcohol mixture heats up, it expands and pushes the red fluid up into the straw. When the water and rubbing alcohol cools down, the molecules contract and the fluid in the straw begins to drop. Real-life thermometers typically use mercury or alcohol as the rising and falling fluid inside because they have a much lower freezing point than water! PIN THIS EXPERIMENT FOR LATER  More Fun Science Experiments For Kids:
Leave a Reply Cancel replyYour email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. MORE ABOUT PLAYING WITH RAIN LET’S CONNECTSearch for more ideas, create at your own risk. All content on this blog was created for inspiration and entertainment purposes. Creating anything with the suggested tools, products or methods, is under your own risk!
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In this video I walk educators through a simple experiment in which a thermometer is shifted from a cup of room temperature water to a cup of scalding hot wa...
Put some medium-hot tap water in a small bowl and place your thermometer reservoir in the water. Give the thermometer time to work. Be sure to pay close attention and take the thermometer out of the water bath if the fluid rises to a level close to the top of your straw. How does the fluid level in the straw change?
Instructions for Building Your Thermometer. 1. Pour rubbing alcohol into the clear bottle until it's about one-third full. This is your indicator liquid. 2. Add several drops of food dye so the indicator liquid will be easily visible. 3. Place a clear (or translucent) straw into the bottle and stir gently to distribute the dye.
Add 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla to the bag. Seal the bag up tightly, and set it inside a large Ziploc bag. Fill the large bag with ice, followed by several tablespoons of ice cream salt (the recipe calls for 6 tablespoons, but I just eye-balled it) Shake the bag, or squish the small bag with your hands, for five to ten ...
Replace the medium-hot water in the bowl with cold water. Add ice cubes to the water so the water cools to 0 degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit). Place your thermometer reservoir in the ice ...
Take the piece of aluminum foil and wrap it around the sides of one of the jars. You should have three layers of foil around the glass jar. Use the tape to attach the foil to the jar. Next, wrap another jar with the bubble wrap so that the glass is also covered in three layers. Make sure to tape the bubble wrap onto the jar.
How to Make a Homemade Thermometer. Pour equal amounts of water and rubbing alcohol into the bottle until it is 1/4 of the way full. Add in a few drops of red food coloring to make it more visible and to look like a thermometer. Put the straw into the bottle and wrap the clay tightly around it and the opening of the bottle.
stem pre-k learning Aug 10, 2023. By combining science, technology, engineering, and math through the creation of a homemade thermometer, early educators can foster a love for STEM in their pre-K students. This hands-on approach not only enhances children's understanding of temperature but also lays the foundation for critical thinking, problem ...
Secure the area around the straw on the lid with modeling clay. Swirl liquids inside jar to mix. 5. Use the permanent marker to draw a line at the surface of the water at room temperature. 6. Place the homemade thermometer in different areas inside and out. Explore how temperature will change the liquids in the jar.
Place your thermometer outside in a spot that will best record daily temperatures. Pick a spot that will get the most sun. Use the data sheet entitled "Thermometer Lab Sheet" to record your temperatures 2 times a day for a week. 8:00; 1:00; Create a bar graph to represent the recorded temperatures. Thermometer Lab Sheet
homemade thermometer experiment. All you need to try this fun weather activity for kids, teaching them how a thermometerworks, are a few simple materials: empty glass botte (like from starbucks frapaccino) water. rubbing alcohol. food coloring. clear straw. modeling clay or playdough. marker.
Kids science experiments are such a fun way to bring science to life. This homemade thermometer science experiment is no exception! One thing to remember when doing science experiments with kids is that some science experiments are true experiments, while others are hands-on demonstrations of scientific concepts. This particular homemade thermometer is the latter.
2. Insert the straw a couple inches into the bottle and mold the clay around it to seal the bottle and hold it in place. When you have a tight seal, water should go up into the straw. 3. Use a marker to mark the level of the water in the straw. 4. Set the bottle in a bowl of hot water. Watch the water level for awhile and then mark the level again.
Temperature and Heat Experiments. Explore temperature and heat transfer further with these experiments that we've tried. T is for Temperature. Do a temperature investigation outside by measuring the temperature of rocks. Practice using a thermometer inside with a simple temperature investigation with water. Color and Temperature Experiment .
One type of thermometer is the liquid-filled thermometer. It consists of a liquid-filled reservoir at the end of a narrow tube. ... Perform the experiment as a class. If you have three similar thermometers*, place one in each bowl simultaneously. If the thermometers are quite different, choose one and use it to measure the temperature of the ...
This experiment also demonstrates the principle of heat transfer. Building a Thermometer. This activity is brought to you by a partnership with NASA and The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) program through NASA's Science Activation program. National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Provide your students with the following instructions: Place cups of water at different temperatures in front of each group: hot, cold, and room temperature. Fill your straw with water by submerging the straw into a cup of water. Seal the straw with your finger to trap water inside. Carefully remove the straw from the cup.
make and experiment with self-made thermometers. Primary Goal: Children will learn about Patterns of Change by inquiring about and observing the basic function of a thermometer. Primary Objective: Children will make a thermometer to observe and analyze how it works and responds to changes in temperature. NATIONAL SCIENCE EDUCATION STANDARDS MET:
Method: Put ice in the bowl. Put the thermometer in the ice. The temperature on the thermometer was originally 75°F or 23° C but it decreased to 50° F or 10° C in this picture. Open the instant grits or oatmeal packet. Pour the ingredients from the packet in a second bowl. Pour hot water in the bowl and stir to mix.
How To Make A Bottle Thermometer. Fill a bottle about 1/3 of the way with water. Pour some rubbing alcohol into the bottle. Add food coloring and mix it up. Put a straw into the bottle and secure it at the top with modeling clay. Set the bottle in a bowl of hot water and watch the water level rise in the straw.
The thermometer you made in this demonstration works just like a regular (liquid) thermometer. It contains a container with a liquid that expands when heated and contracts when cooled. This change in volume is made extra clear in a narrow channel that is part of the container. Experiment You can turn this demonstration into an experiment.
Das Video zeigt den Versuch „Ferngesteuerte Strohhalme" vom Kapitel „Elektrische Kräfte" der EVN Forscherwelt. Die Kinder probieren, die Aufgabe selbständig ...
This experiment is divided into two parts. In the first part, you will use and exam-ine the accuracy and precision of four different types of thermometers. These are: a liquid in glass thermometer (LIGT), a pyrometer, two thermocouples, and a platinum resistance thermometer (PRT). You should walk away with not only an appreciation for the wide