Make a Wind Gauge
Measure wind speed around your neighborhood with a DIY wind gauge.
Before You Play
Review what your child knows about wind. Ask, "What’s the windiest place you can imagine? (Answers may include: Top of a skyscraper, middle of the ocean, top of a mountain.) Why is it so windy there? (Nothing to block the wind.) What are some different ways we use the wind’s energy? (To make electricity, push a sailboat, fly a kite, power a windmill or pinwheel, etc.) Then ask, "What are some ways we could measure the wind’s speed?" What if we wanted to find the windiest place around here? What could we do? (Fly kites, let our hair blow, set up an anemometer, try a wind gauge.) If possible, watch the Cyberchase episode “Blowin’ in the Wind” with your child.
Materials
Directions
Have your child follow the directions on the printable to make the wind gauge.
Demonstrate how to use the wind gauge to measure the speed of the wind. Tell your child that when she’s outside she’ll need to figure out which way the wind is blowing from. Point the arrow on the card in that direction and turn the card so the string hangs down and lines up with the 0. The wind will blow the string away from the 0, and your child should note which number on the wind gauge the string reaches. To find out which way the wind is blowing, she can hold a streamer into the wind. It will blow away from the source of the wind. Point the arrow on the wind gauge toward the source of the wind. Measure the wind speed in multiple places for comparison.
Discuss your child’s findings. Ask questions such as, “Where was the windiest place? Which places would be best for your pinwheel? Which places are the wind duds? Do you think you’d get the same results on another day? Why or why not?"
Optional: Assemble the pinwheel with your child and try it in the windiest place.
Science