Natural Disaster Science Activities for Kids

Recently, we have been investigating some of Earth’s most destructive forces by exploring natural disaster science activities! No matter where you live, you have probably had to brace or prepare for a natural disaster in your lifetime. For instance, because we live in California, earthquakes are always going to be at the forefront of our news cycle. Those of you on the East Coast know that hurricanes are a possibility every year. Teaching children about how and why these disasters occur is very important. We find that discussing ways to prepare and stay safe takes some of the fear out of these situations.

One way to introduce natural disasters to your science curriculum is to give your students the opportunity to observe these forces with actual hands on science experiments. They get to see science in action instead of just reading about it! The four activities we are about to share with you can all be easily done in both the home and classroom setting. Best of all, you probably have most of the materials already! They can be done before or after introducing natural disasters to your little scientists.

Natural Disaster Science Activities

1. Tornado in a Jar

What You Need:

clear plastic or glass jar
water
food coloring
dish soap
glitter, sequins, or tiny pieces of foil (to act as “debris” or surface objects)

Directions:

First, fill a clear jar with water. Then, add 1-2 drops of dish soap. The dish soap is important since it makes the funnel shape easier to see. After that, add 3-4 drops of food coloring. We used blue food coloring but any color is fine! Now comes the fun part…hold the jar upright and shake it in a rotating, circular motion. Your students will see a mini “tornado” forming. Finish the observation by having students add some glitter, sequins or tiny pieces of foil in the jar. Close the jar, have them shake it again in a rotating, circular motion and watch as the “tornado” lifts the “debris” off the ground!

Tornado in a Jar

2. Hurricane in a Bowl

What You Need:

clear, large bowl
water
food coloring
spoon

Directions:

Start this activity by filling a clear, large bowl 3/4 full of water. Then, use a spoon to stir the water in a circular motion until it is spinning. Spin the water counterclockwise to mimic the rotation of the winds in the Northern Hemisphere or clockwise to mimic the rotation of the winds in the Southern Hemisphere. Finally, quickly add 2-3 drops of food coloring to the center of the bowl. You will see a hurricane shape start to form. Watch as the “hurricane” starts out strong and slowly starts to dissipate as it looses energy over time!

Hurricane in a Bowl

3. Erupting Volcano

What You Need:

baking pan
homemade or store-bought play dough or molding clay
baking soda
vinegar
red food coloring
teaspoon
small measuring cup

Directions:

Begin by building and shaping a volcano on a baking pan using modeling clay or dough. The baking pan is important because it will catch the “lava” to prevent spills and make clean up easier. Next, make an indentation at the top of the volcano to create the opening “vent”. Then, put one teaspoon of baking soda into the top of the volcano “vent”. In a measuring cup, mix about a ¼ cup of vinegar with 2-3 drops of red food coloring. Slowly pour the vinegar mix into the baking soda and watch the “lava” come oozing out of the vent!

Erupting Volcano Science

4. Earthquake Shake Table

What You Need:

2 sheets of thick cardboard
2 large rubber bands (elastic)
4 tennis balls (or similar sized balls)
construction materials such as building bricks, play dough, toothpicks, popsicle sticks, wooden blocks

Directions:

This is a really fun STEM challenge for your little engineers! Begin by layering two cardboard pieces on top of each other and place rubber bands around them. Then, slide the tennis balls between the cardboard pieces near each of the four corners. Next, have your students brainstorm model ideas for a secure design. Once they have a design in mind, use the desired construction materials to create a building. Our kids love using building bricks so of course they chose that! Place the building on top of the shake table. Finally, test the earthquake safeness by holding the bottom of the shake table and pulling & releasing one corner on the top. Repeat this step a few times using different amounts of force. You will notice how the building bounces around as you pull and release a few times. Did your building withstand the shaking?

Looking for more natural disaster science activities?

If you want your students to dig deeper into the wonders of natural disasters and how they shape our amazing Earth, check out our mega bundle that covers earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanoes and tornadoes.