How To Pick Out the Best Weather Station for Kids
For some children, there is nothing more fascinating than the weather. Seeing the awesome power of nature on display can be a thrilling experience.
Teachers today are given many great choices of personal climate instrument gathering units to choose from.
Finding the right equipment for measuring the outside elements is usually one of the main concerns for the teacher trying to share the wonders of nature with their students.
Many schools are involving these elements stations in their science department’s curriculum.
You should take a look at the 4M KidzLabs Weather Lab Science Kit.
I am going to go through all of the areas of weather that will pique interest from children. They will if exposed to meteorology, and enjoy some of the experiments that you can show them. You need to emphasize these are happening all the time around them.
What Are Some Factors To Consider When Purchasing
When trying to share their love of weather with the student, you will have to find the best weather unit for kids to use. While this seems like it would be fairly easy, it is anything but, due to a large number of options on the market.
Using all of the climate condition measurements available to you is a great way to assess what is going on weather-wise in your particular area.
Just take a look at all the parts of a climate instrument gathering unit. An easy-to-use unit will usually feature a variety of sensors that give various readings on things like precipitation and wind speed to name a few.
The various components of a meteorological study can teach a child various things about the weather and the world around them.
Get A Headstart
Before a child studies weather stations in middle school or high school, it would be to your advantage to start teaching your child about weather stations at a younger age.
You can cultivate both knowledge and interest in your child.
This will be, both fun for you and your son or daughter, as well as a chance to teach science laws.
Thames & Kosmos Climate and Weather
Make sure that you teach the laws of physics as to how they come into play with what weather conditions we experience every day in our life here on planet Earth.
While thinking about all of these options I was thinking about whether I could find a real comprehensive weather station/weather science lab type of kit that would work well for a child over 10 years old.
This is what I came up with. This kit seems to have everything you would want and need to accomplish cultivating a new interest in weather from a new student of weather.
Here are some great fun beginning weather stations for your consideration. These are for both boys and girls.
In taking a serious look at all of the children’s student science weather station experiment kits you should take a serious look at this kit.
It involves top-flight science experiments involving the weather as well as providing a great basis for being a fabulous learning tool.
Some features are the following.
- Learn how the Earth’s atmosphere affects us all
- Conduct experiments in a model globe
- Recreate the Earth’s air currents, heat reservoirs, and ocean currents
- Explore the hydrological cycle
While thinking about all of these options I was thinking about whether I could find a real comprehensive weather station/weather science lab type of kit that would work well for a child over 10 years old.
This is what I came up with. This kit seems to have everything you would want and need to accomplish cultivating a new interest in weather from a new student of weather.
To your child, this can be a great leg up in becoming a more accomplished student of science. This will in turn grow them into a stronger scientific mind.
3 More Great Products To Take a Look At
Young Scientist Series – Set 2: Weather (Kit 4) – Solids
My Recommendation #1: Young Scientist Series-3 complete kits- Weather, Solids Liquids & Gases, And Volcanoes
This product is three great experiment kits for one price. Your child could want to become any of the three- a Meteorologist, a Volcanologist or a Chemist.
These kits are quite expansive in what each one will end up teaching a pupil. The weather kit is quite extensive it covers temperature, rain, wind, wind direction, and a barometer.
Your child will be able to build an actual volcano that erupts. All of this. It’s too much fun and educational as well.
It’s recommended for ages 5-12. Certain kits will match certain age levels.
Winner of numerous National Parents awards.
American Educational Weather Forecast Earth Science Videolab with DVDs
My Recommendation #2: American Educational Weather Forecast Earth Science Video lab with DVDs
This is the top step. If you are looking for the best, this is It. It also is the most expensive of my recommendation. But it is worth it.
Take a serious look at it, and just how complete of an education the student will get. Your student will never be the same and will be reaping the rewards for years to come as well.
The set has two DVDs, “Weather at 5:00” and “The Hydrologic Cycle,” provided as well and has Materials for 12 lab stations, plus a Teacher’s guide
It provides hands-on activities which include learning how to use weather instruments to gather data for individual classroom weather stations, to develop student understanding of basic weather concepts.
Wind & Weather ID3890-GRL My First Weather Station with a Kid-Friendly, 6-1/4H
My recommendation #3: Wind & Weather-My First Weather Station with a Kid-Friendly
This kit is much less pricey, not as complete in its education resources but could be a great way to introduce the younger of the students to the weather.
The highlight is that it shows your kid what type of clothes they will need to be donning before they leave for school or play.
This could be very attractive for getting an initial interest in weather.
It’s worth taking a look at.
Below are some of the things that the various components of a weather station can teach a child
The Sun, Radiation Shields, and UV Rays
When trying to get measurements on the temperature and humidity in an area, a unit will need a good radiation shield. The sensors that give these readings are usually housed in these shields, which help them to stay protected from direct sunlight. Having this type of buffer between the sun and the sensors is the only way to get accurate readings.
The biggest reason for the shields in relation to the temperature measuring sensors is to keep the sun’s rays from overheating the thermometers. This would then give a false reading that would show the temperature to be higher than it really is.
When putting these shields on, a teacher will be able to let their students know about UV rays and just how powerful the sun is. Most children are aware of the power the sun has but never think about how the UV rays can affect the world around them.
Explaining how important it is to protect against the heat and UV rays of the sun is important and can be easily done during the installation of these shields.
Teach How an Anemometer Can Be Used to Predict Weather Patterns
An anemometer is used to measure the speed of the wind in an area. There are some anemometers that have propellers while others have cups. Generally, there is really not much difference between these two types of wind measuring devices.
When putting the anemometer up, a teacher can explain how wind speed and direction can be used to predict outside element patterns.
Meteorologists depend on anemometers to help them predict when major storm fronts are rolling in and just how severe they are going to be.
Children usually get a big kick out of seeing the anemometer in action. Involving the children in the setup and reading of the anemometer can also be a great way to weave science and math into the same lesson.
Measuring Rainfall to Detect Flooding
The Science behind these climate stations and rain gauges is fairly straightforward. The rain gauge is usually contained within a bucket and the higher the water in the bucket gets, the higher the reading the gauge will give.
One of the main uses for these devices is to detect flooding conditions. After hard rains, a teacher and their students will be able to record the amount of rain that fell and determine whether or not it could cause flooding issues for the area.
A teacher can also teach their class about droughts and the importance that rain plays in the agriculture industry. The teacher might also be able to relate to their students how vital water is to animals as well as farm crops. A detailed description and discussion of farming concepts would make for wonderful science lessons.
Also, the inclusion of animals, different types of farm animals, and how much water is required to raise the animals would be an enlightening conversation. Having grown up on a farm I can personally vouch for just how much water is consumed by cows in a day.
Large troughs, filled with gallons of water are consumed by cattle both at the morning feedings and the late afternoon feedings.
Great conversations, studies, and conclusions, make for great lessons, that students will long remember.
The Power of Wireless Technology
Most people want to avoid having too many wires running from their climate station into their classroom. In the past, the only way to power a station was to have numerous cables and wires running back to an electrical source.
Where the sensors for the station are set up will make a large difference in the constant and accurate transmission of the sensors data to the main display unit. The outside location of the sensor unit can be explained in great detail to the students.
Bringing in factors such as seasonal temperature differences, and building materials used in the buildings of the school as well, are all well worth mentioning to the students.
Other scenarios present themselves to this area of study such as the type of power used by the weather station. Whether it would be solar power or battery power. Most units are powered by batteries. But these days, there are a number of wireless units out there that can operate on solar power.
Since solar power seems to be the wave of the future, it is important that a teacher makes an effort to teach their students about it. Most children are quite familiar with WIFI, due to the rampant use of mobile devices in the world. Showing the children a tangible example of how solar power can be used is a great way to open their minds to this growing technology.
The Display Console
An indoor display console is also another very important thing that every good outside climate station needs. Before trying to teach a class about the various readings on the station, a teacher will need to do their homework.
The students will be able to see the data from all of the tools that they have helped to install on this display with ease.
Many of the station manufacturers have very colorful and elaborate climate instrument display consoles. It will take a detailed discussion with the students to point out everything the station is providing. This actually could be a couple of classes to cover it properly. Learning how to use a personal weather station can be made much easier with the purchase of the right system.
