2 FUN, Hands-on Water Cycle Activities for Kids

Did you know that the water on the earth has been here for a LONG time and it just keeps getting recycled?? It’s true. We have two simple water cycle activities to help you teach about water cycle for kids. These science projects help you teach your littles all about the water cycle on the earth. Start with the water cycle experiment which provides a great way to see how water turns to gas and back into a liquid again. Then try our water cycle craft to help kids to reinforce the water life cycle. These are both fun ways to learn about the water cycle for kindergarten, pre-k, first grade, 2nd grade, and 3rd grade science.

Water Cycle Activities for Kids

If you are teaching kids about the water cycle, you will want to see these fun water cycle activities. These are great additions to add to your  water cycle lesson plan with preschoolers, kindergartners, grade 1, grade 2, and grade students. Whether you want an easy water cycle craft for kids or a simple water cycle science experiment – you will love these ideas to make science fun for kids! Parents, teacher, and homeschoolers will love using these ideas at home, in the classroom, or as a supplement to their homeschool science curriclum.

​We have lots more science experiments for kids and weather experiments for kids​ to choose from! Try our rain in a jar experiment worksheet and weather worksheets for kindergarten

Water cycle project for kids

The first simple activity is a Water Cycle In A Bottle. It’s a super simple way to show children how the water cycle works also while recycling a plastic bottle. Children will be ecstatic to watch water turn to gas, turn back into a liquid, and circle back around to end up in the bottom of the bottle. Then it starts all over again.

Water Cycle Activities

You’ll need:

• Hot Water
• Blue Food Coloring (Optional)
• A Clear Empty Bottle
• Sharpie
• Ice Cubes
• A cup or something to hold the bottle up, because you will turn it upside down.

To make this water cycle in a bottle, start with the outside. First, turn the bottle upside down. You’ll take the sharpie and draw the various parts of the water cycle on the outside of the jar. This is to give kids a visualization of how the water cycle works. We drew the ocean on the “bottom” (which is actually the top of the bottle, but you have turned it upside down). Then on the top, draw a sky. You can even add fish to the ocean and birds in the sky.

Water cycle hands-on activity

Add food coloring to the hot water if you’re going to add the color. Then pour it into the bottle, tighten the lid and tip it upside down again. Place it upside down in the cup. Put ice cubes on the flat bottom (now top) of the bottle.

Water Cycle Activity

Slowly but surely you will start to see condensation forming and maybe even a cloud. You can then talk about how the water cycle works.

Water cycle craft

The second activity is a paper plate version of the water cycle with a water dropplet that spins around the various parts of the cycle.

You’ll need:

• Paper Plate
• Colored Pencils
• Printable Labels & Pictures (if you want to use them)
• Scissors
• Glue
• Cardstock
• 1 Brad

On the top part of the paper plate draw or add the printable pictures to create the sky. The bottom half of the paper plate is the ocean and ground. Again, you can add fish to the ocean and birds in the sky if you would like.

Cut out the labels from the printable and place them in the right places, use the picture below for reference.

Water cycle crafts

Next you’ll want to cut the arm that the water droplet will move with, we cut it out of cardstock. It should be the length of a little shorter than half of the paper plate.

Glue the raindrop image, from the printable, on one end of the arm and connect the other side to the middle of the paper plate with a brad. Now you can move the raindrop through the water cycle, just like the water actually goes through the water cycle.

How fun are those activities? They are both the perfect visualization of how the water cycle works in real life.

We like doing these activities at the beginning of spring when it starts to get rainy often. Realistically though, you can do this activity anytime of the year!