Activity 1

To observe and describe how day length varies by exploring

the average number of hours of day light in autumn.

See if you can record the times that it gets light and dark and then calculate how many hours  of daylight we have in a day and see how it changes over the next two weeks or month. You can download a table to record your results on below or draw your own like this one. 

Activity 2

Make a rain gauge

Task - to measure how much rain falls each day.

You will need: A 2 Litre clear plastic drinks bottle

                                                     2 x paperclips

                                                         jelly

                                                        ruler

                                                        sticky tape

Watch the video below to see how to make your rain gauge.

Activity 3

Grow your own rainbow

You will need:

•          Kitchen roll/paper towel

                   • Felt-tip pens

                   • Two small bowls of water

                   • Paperclip

                   • Thread

What To Do:

1. Cut the kitchen roll into the shape of a rainbow.

2. At each end, use the felt-tip pens to colour a rainbow about 2cm up from the bottom. Remember the order of the colours: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet.

3. Attach the paperclip to the top of the rainbow and tie a piece of thread to it. This will allow you to hold your rainbow.

4. Add water to the two bowls.

5. Hold the rainbow with both ends slightly submerged into each bowl of water and watch your rainbow grow.

In this experiment, you used kitchen roll. The fibres in kitchen roll have lots of little holes. Water is absorbed through the kitchen roll because when the first water molecule adheres to it and begins to move upward, it pulls the next water molecule up with it, like a chain. That is how your rainbow grows. 

Activity 4

Look on the following websites to find out more about weather.