🧪 Science with Sarah: ☁️ Cloud-in-a-jar!

See the science of meteorology at work with just a couple of easy, at-home materials

👉 Watch the video of Sarah’s first at school science experiment here!

Hello parents, teachers and students!

Are you looking for something fun to do at home that has a little bit of science behind it?

Learn how to make a cloud-in-a-jar at home with Meteorologist Sarah Spivey and her awesome assistant, David Sears!

Be sure to check out GMSA@9 on Wednesdays when Meteorologist Sarah Spivey does the demonstrations and explains the science behind it.

Science with Sarah: Invite KSAT to your school for live science experiments. (KSAT)

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL NEED

  • A mason jar with the lid
  • Hot water
  • Hairspray
  • Ice

DO THE EXPERIMENT

  1. Pour hot water into the mason jar. Use adult supervision and avoid touching the bottom of the jar once the hot water is in the jar
  2. Quickly spritz some hairspray into the jar
  3. Quickly cover the jar with the lid
  4. Place a few ice cubes on top of the lid
  5. Watch as a cloud forms inside of the jar
  6. After a little while, lift up the lid and watch the “cloud” escape from the jar

HOW IT WORKS

This is a perfect example of how clouds form in our atmosphere. The hot water produces steam or water vapor in the jar. Then the cold ice causes the water vapor to condensate onto the microscopic hairspray particles.

SCIENCE WITH SARAH

If you’d like Sarah and David to come to your school and conduct a science experiment live on KSAT, email sciencewithsarah@ksat.com.

Parents and guardians: upload a video of your child performing the activity by clicking here. Send it in and you might see it on GMSA @ 9 a.m.!


About the Authors:

Sarah Spivey is a San Antonio native who grew up watching KSAT. She has been a proud member of the KSAT Weather Authority Team since 2017. Sarah is a Clark High School and Texas A&M University graduate. She previously worked at KTEN News. When Sarah is not busy forecasting, she enjoys hanging out with her husband and cat, and playing music.

Ben Spicer is a digital journalist who works the early morning shift for KSAT.