Anemometer

STREAM Activity: Anemometer Craft

Wind Speed!

Activity best for children ages four and up

Have you ever felt the wind blowing in your hair while playing outside? Have you ever wondered how fast that wind is blowing? Meteorologists use a very special tool called an anemometer to measure how fast or slow the wind is blowing. Knowing the speed of the wind can help us be ready when we play outside so we don’t blow away, and can also help scientists prepare us for storms and extreme weather!

VOCABULARY

  • Meteorologist: A scientist who studies the weather like rain, clouds, sunshine, and wind!

  • Weather: What it feels like outside each day (rainy, foggy, sunny, cloudy, windy)

GUIDING QUESTIONS

  • How fast can you move your anemometer if you blow on it?

  • What do you think would happen if we took the anemometer outside on a windy day?

MATERIALS

  • 5 Small paper cups (3 oz)

  • 2 straws

  • 1 pencil

  • 1 push pin

  • 1 hole puncher

  • Variable speed fan or ceiling fan

  • Markers (optional- for decoration!)

DIRECTIONS

STEP 1

Using your single-hole punch, punch 4 holes into 1 cup, spacing each hole out opposite one another.

Put 4 hole punches in one cup

STEP 2

Take one straw and push it through one of the holes in your cup. Push the straw through the next hole on the other side of your cup. Repeat this step again with your other straw. Your straws should be criss- crossed at the end of this step.

Push straw though the cups

STEP 3

Now, with your four other cups, take your hole puncher and punch 2 holes near one another on one side of each cup.

Add two holes to four cups

STEP 4

Slide each cup onto the end of one straw. Make sure that the opening of each cup is facing the same direction. Again, if you are having trouble sliding the straw through, use your tweezers or pliers to help you pull it through.

Add the four cups to the straws

STEP 5

Now, take your pencil and poke it into the bottom of the cup in the middle, making a hole. Then, push the eraser end of your pencil through the hole you’ve made until the eraser touches the bottom of your criss-crossed straws.

Push a pencil through the middle

STEP 6

Now your anemometer is ready to measure the wind! Try spinning your anemometer (cups) with your hand to make sure that it spins. If it feels a bit stuck, loosen your push pin a bit until your cups can spin more smoothly. Place your anemometer in front of your fan now to see how fast or slow it spins!

Anemometer