Make a Fall Tornado Bottle

Swirl up a storm right on your kitchen counter with this thrilling, hands-on Tornado Bottle activity!

 

Materials Needed

• Plastic bottles
• Water
• Food coloring
• Small fall leaves
• Metal washer
• Heavy-duty duct tape or painter's tape

 

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Fill one plastic bottle about three-quarters full with water.

Step 2: Add a few drops of food coloring to color the water.

Step 3: Drop small fall leaves into the bottle.

Step 4: Place a metal washer over the opening of the filled bottle.

Step 5: Invert the second empty bottle and place its opening directly on top of the washer.

Step 6: Wrap tape tightly around the connected necks to create a secure, leak-proof seal.

Step 7: Flip the double-bottle setup so the full bottle is on top.

Step 8: Swirl the top bottle rapidly in a circular motion and watch the spinning vortex swirl the leaves and funnel water straight down!

Learn More

Swirling the bottle spins the water and creates a swirling vortex called a tornado! As the water rotates around the center, centripetal force pulls the liquid outward toward the bottle walls. This leaves an open tunnel of air right through the middle of the spinning water. Air from the bottom bottle flows up through this open center, which lets the heavy water pour smoothly down into the lower bottle without glugging!

If your young scientist loved the swirling power of tornadoes, dive deeper into vortexes with the Vortex Lab from the KiwiCo Store!