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How to Make a Weather Vane with Kids at Home

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I am really excited to be taking part in this Weather Blog Hop. Isn't weather a fascinating thing? I mean really, especially in March. We have shared a lot of STEM activities for kids over the years and this hands on weather engineering project is going to blow your minds. how to build a wind vane at home image of kid building wind vane
 
My kids are talking about the weather too. The lack of snow has been a hot topic in the schoolyard. Last fall, we created our own rain gauge for our backyard, the girls loved it. We collected data for a couple of months and we are looking forward to getting back at it this spring. So, when we were thinking about a weather activity we decided to take advantage of something we have plenty of at this time of year - wind. We live at the top of a hill and it is REALLY windy in our front yard. In fact, it is not unusual to see something blow onto our driveway that started out the next street over. Crazy!

What is a weather vane?

 
A weather vane a tool that shows the direction of the wind. Thus, it can also be called a "wind vane". You will often times see a weather vane on the top of buildings, like barns. 
 
I found this awesome book at the library "Sure to Win Science Fair Projects" by Joe Rhatigan with Heather Smith. This book is filled with great science experiments to do with your kids. We used the instructions for making a wind vane as a guide in making our very own. This project was very hands-on. The girls went to the hardware store to pick up the supplies. My eldest daughter read the instructions and my youngest daughter did a lot of the hard work. Here is how we did it.

How to Make a Weather Vane with Kids

supplies for building weather vane hammer, straw, nail

1 thin long nail, about 1 ½ inches long
plastic drinking straw
wood glue
1-inch diameter metal washer
1-inch diameter wood dowel, 2 feet long
hammer
scissors
staple gun
index card
masking tape
thin, bendable wire
compass

This project requires adult supervision

First up, carefully press the nail through the middle of the straw, so that the straw spins around on the nail when you flick it.

nail through plastic straw

Now, use the wood glue to adhere the washer, flat, down to one end of the dowel.

child gluing washer on top of wood dowel for weather vane project

Now it's time to secure the straw to the dowel. Centre the straw and nail over the centre of the washer, and hammer the nail into the dowel. Leave enough space to allow the straw to spin freely. *adult supervision*

Use scissors to make 1 inch long vertical slits in the top and bottom of the straw. Then slide the index card into the slits in the straw and tape it in place. The index card will catch the wind and the other end of the straw will serve as the pointer.

straw taped to index card with masking tape

Hold the dowel vertically and mark a line 3 inches from the top of the dowel...this is where you will wrap the wire.

wire wrapped around wooden dowel for wind vane project

Wrap the wire around the dowel a few times to hold it in place - it should resemble a cross. Repeat with the second piece of wire. Now you should have 4 arms of wire extending out from the dowel. Use the staple gun to secrure the wires to the dowel.

wire stapled to dowel for wind vane activity for kids

Now bend the tip of each wire in the shape of a letter for North, South, East and West.

letters S and W bent in wire

Stick the bottom of the dowel into a planter or in the ground. Rotate the weather vane until the labelled direction wires point in the correct direction..."s" points south, "n" point north, etc. Use a compass if you are uncertain.

kids putting wind vane in the ground
weather vane with kids blowing on the wind gauge
Now the weather vane is ready to go. Sit back and watch it spin. Or, be like my kids and give the wind vane a little extra help.
 

How to read a wind vane

The direction the pointer end faces is the direction the wind is blowing. The wind will push the index card away from it, so the pointer end will tell you where the wind is coming from.
 
This project has lead to discussions about direction and temperature. For instance, if the wind is blowing in from the north would it be hot or cold? What direction is the wind blowing in from if the pointer is between North and West? What weather-related tool will we make next??
Related Posts
 
earth day activities for kids collage of activitiesCheck out all of our amazing Earth Day Activities for kids to explore
 

super cool environmental science activities for kids social And, we've got all kinds of cool environmental science project for kids too

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About Jen

Jen Farr is a mother living in Toronto, Canada. She has been sharing her DIY crafts, recipes, activities and parenting advice for over 15 years on her blog Kitchen Counter Chronicle. Jen is the mom of 2 lovely daughters. She believes in the power of taking small steps that can make big impacts on the world.

Comments

  1. RedTedArt says

    What a brilliant weather vane! Wow.

    Thanks for sharing on Kids Get Crafty!

    Maggy

  2. Emma @sciencesparks says

    That is fantastic! I am loving all the weather posts! Thanks for linking to Science Sparks xx

  3. Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas says

    very cool! I have never done this and it looks like a fabulous activity!