Windy Ways Organiser’s

Windy Ways Organiser’s Card About the activity This activity is designed to get children thinking about wind patterns and directions. Bubbles provide an interesting and engaging way for children to investigate wind speed and direction. They can make simple measurements of the time it takes for bubbles to travel a set distance to get wind speed, and can plot the movement of bubbles to get the wind direction. The children are asked to read a news article: Startown Primary School has been invited by an organisation called OPAL to take part in an exciting new weather survey. It has asked the school to see if they can find out about the wind using bubbles! Can they help? Through this activity you will support your group to: • Think about how the wind behaves • Investigate wind speed and direction using bubbles • Record and present their results to the group Kit list • Bubble blowers and solution • Pens or pencils • Paper • Compasses • Timers • Measuring tapes or sticks What to do 1. Introduce the activity using the story. Set the scene by discussing the weather and how it is measured and get the children to think about their own experiences of things blowing in the wind (balloons, dandelion seeds etc). 2. Give out activity cards and equipment to the children. Let them practice blowing bubbles. 3. Explain that they will be trying to measure wind direction and the speed that the bubbles travel. 5. Support children to conduct their investigation and make their own records of their results. Go outside to carry out the investigation. Make sure groups are not too close together. 6. Ask the children to present their findings to the rest of the group, they can be as creative in their presentation as they want. They could record their findings by making a chart or presentation. 4. Encourage children to discuss their ideas and how they will use the resources to carry out their investigations.

Things to think about Make sure that the bubble solution is a good strength so that bubbles are easy to blow. Try it before the children use it. The children are likely to be excited at first and chase bubbles. This is normal. Once they have done this they should be ready to focus on solving the problem. They can do this without running around frantically. Encourage children not to use too many bubbles at once. A few at a time are generally easier to investigate. Avoid very windy days. The bubbles will move too quickly and erratically. A gentle breeze is best. Keywords • Weather • Wind • Surveys • Bubbles Take it further Children can draw a labelled picture depicting the movement of their bubbles. They can create a chart showing their findings. They can make a guide for someone who wants to find out more about the wind. Watch out! Ensure children do not swallow the bubble solution or get it in their eyes. Children can become excited when blowing bubbles. It should be safe for them to chase the bubbles in an open area if they are well spread out, but remind them about behaving sensibly to avoid bumps and falls. Find out more For more information see www.opalexplorenature.org/crest British Science Association Registered Charity No. 212479 and SC039236