Let’s Make a Cloud in a Jar!

Explore the magic of clouds by making your very own clouds in a jar!

• 30 – 60 mins

• Hairspray
• Hot water (with adult supervision)
• Ice cubes
• Mason jar or other wide-mouthed jar with lid
• Spoon
• Blue food coloring

Hey there, curious minds! Just like Simon Denis painted clouds, we’re going to create our own cloudy masterpiece using safe and fun materials. Let’s get started on this exciting adventure!

Watch the video above to see the steps of this activity.

Prepare Your Jar

Make sure your mason jar is clean and dry. If it’s not, ask a grown-up to help you wash and dry it thoroughly.

Create Your Clouds

Now, let’s make our clouds! Pour hot water into the mason jar until it’s about one-third full. (Ask an adult if you need help with the hot water.) Put a drop of food coloring into the water and mix with a spoon. Then spray hairspray into the jar.

Watch and Wait

After adding the hairspray, quickly screw the lid onto the jar. Now, watch closely as the magic unfolds inside! You should see clouds forming in the jar.

What type of clouds do these remind you of?

Add Ice Cubes

Place a few ice cubes on top of the lid. This helps create the perfect conditions for our clouds to form even better!

Observe and Describe

Take a moment to observe what’s happening inside your jar. Can you see the clouds forming? What do they look like? Share your observations with your friends or family.

You can also sketch or draw what you see in the jar and write about what happened. How did the ice cubes change the cloud formations? Why?