Rain in a Jar | A Toddler-Friendly Science Experiment
A beautiful way to explore weather, color, and cause & effect through play
This Rain in a Jar experiment is one of our favorite fall science activities — and it’s always a hit with toddlers! Using shaving cream and food coloring, your child can watch “rain” fall through a cloud and learn how weather works through hands-on play and observation.
We recently did this in class, and the kids were mesmerized! Scroll down to see photos from our experiment in action. 👇
🎯 What Your Toddler Is Learning
- Cause & Effect – They see that when the “cloud” gets full, rain starts to fall
- Observation Skills – Watching color drip through the shaving cream is captivating
- Basic Science Concepts – A playful intro to clouds, rain, and precipitation
- Language Development – Use words like cloud, full, rain, drop, and fall
🧺 What You’ll Need
- A clear jar or cup
- Water (fill ¾ of the way full)
- Shaving cream (foaming kind, not gel)
- Food coloring (blue is classic, but try rainbow colors too!)
- A dropper, spoon, or pipette
🛠️ How to Set It Up
- Fill your clear jar about ¾ full with water.
- Spray a thick layer of shaving cream on top — this is your “cloud.”
- In a separate cup, mix a few drops of food coloring with a little water.
- Have your child slowly drip the colored water over the shaving cream cloud using a spoon or dropper.
- Watch closely as the color pushes through the foam and “rains” into the water below.
📸 Here’s what it looked like when we did it in class:
💡 Tips to Make It Even Better
- Narrate what’s happening as your child watches:
“Look, the cloud is getting full… the rain is starting to fall!” - Try it with one color first, then layer multiple colors to create rainbow rain
- Place white paper behind the jar to help the color show up clearly
- Let your child pick which color to add next!
📚 Part of Our October Curriculum
This activity is one of 10 science-based learning invitations inside our Free October Curriculum for 2-Year-Olds — where toddlers explore big ideas (like cause and effect) through playful, hands-on moments.
👉 Click here to view the full October curriculum