How to Make a DIY Weather Vane and Compass Science Activities for Kids

As spring approaches we see a lot of changes in the weater which make it a great time to explore with some fun weather activities for kids and weather experiments for kids to help children understand more about wind, rain, clouds, and more! I’ll show you how to make a weather vane the EASY way, make a homemade compass and more weather kindergarten, preschool, pre-k, first grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, and 4th graders will be interested in. So grab a couple simple materials you probably have at home and make this homemade weather vane today.

How to make a weather vane

Are you looking for a fun and educational activity for your little ones? Try making a DIY weather vane! This engaging project is perfect for preschoolers through fourth graders and offers a hands-on way to explore concepts related to wind, weather, and clouds.

Not only is creating a weather vane enjoyable, but it also helps kids relate weather conditions to their daily lives. For instance, if the temperature drops, they might choose to play indoors instead of heading to the park. If there’s a chance of rain, they’ll remember to grab a jacket and umbrella before heading out.

Even young children in preschool and kindergarten can get involved by learning to read a thermometer or creating simple weather instruments like a wind sock or rain gauge. This is a fantastic way to combine science with creativity while keeping your little ones engaged and curious about the world around them.

We have lots more science experiments for kids and weather experiments for kids​ to choose from! Try our ​rainbow in a jar​ density experiment for kids and water cycle worksheets

weather vane craft

Even if they don’t learn the difference between cirrus and cumulus, in today’s fast paced society, every child should spend at least some time cloud watching. This science project will teach you how to make a weather vane.

Historically, weather vanes have been in existence and used to help predict the weather for over 2,000 years. Unfortunately, these predictions are not always very accurate. However, although meteorology is a lot more complicated than the direction the wind is coming from, knowing this information can be used to make better educated guesses about the weather.

homemade weathervanes

For added educational value, kids can easily make their own homemade compass to help orient their weather vane while simultaneously learning something about the Earth’s magnetic field.

For example, if the wind is coming from the north in the northern hemisphere, one might expect the temperature to cool off since average temperatures are typically colder the closer one gets to the Earth’s poles. (In the southern hemisphere, southern winds would be more likely to have a cooling effect.) Conversely, if the wind was coming from the direction of the equator (so the south in the northern hemisphere, north in southern hemisphere), one might predict warmer weather is on its way. If you live near an ocean, wind from that direction might suggest an increase in humidity (the amount of moisture in the air). Whether or not their predictions are reliable, kids can have fun practicing their weather forecasting skills.

wind vane for kids

All you need for this weather project for kids are a few simple materials you already have at your house or in your classroom. So grab your supplies and let me show you how to make a wind vane.

• straw
• unsharpened, unused pencil
• empty circular plastic container with lid (such as sour cream, cottage cheese, yogurt, etc.)
• playdough (enough to fill the bottom of your container about 1/2 inch)
• ball pin
• 1 sheet of card stock
• needle
• refrigerator magnet (ours looks like a silver push pin in the picture above)
• small square piece of Styrofoam (at least about 1″ x 1″)
• bowl
• glue
• scissors
• x-acto knife
• pencil
• markers
• tape (optional)
• ruler (optional)

homemade weather vane

Let’s walk you through the simple steps for how build a weather vane. First, trace the lid of the plastic container onto the cardstock and cut it out. Use the X-acto knife to make an “x”-shaped hole in the lid of the plastic container and use the hole to mark the center of your circle. If desired, draw a compass rose onto your cardstock circle. Otherwise, just label the 4 cardinal direction with N, S, E, and W. Glue the circle onto the lid.

diy weather vane

If desired, cut out and decorate a piece of cardstock to wrap around your plastic container. Ours says, “Which Way Does the Wind Blow?” and I had my kids decorate thier homemade wind vane with a weather theme (storm clouds, sun, rain, lightening, etc.)

how to make a weathervane

Attach the label to the plastic container with tape or glue. Fill the inside of the container with about 1/2 inch of play dough. After the glue dries on the lid, use the X-acto knife to cut an “x” in the center of the paper and push the unused pencil through the lid.

wind vane

Place the lid back on the container, pushing the pencil into the playdough so that the pencil is firmly held in place sticking straight out of the container.

Next, flatten your straw a bit, so that you can see a crease on the top and bottom. (If your straw has a bendy section, cut if off first.) Using the creases as a guide, cut a small slit on the top and bottom of each end (4 slits total). Each slit should be about 1/4 inch in length.

Cut out a square and triangle from the cardstock to make an arrow’s tail and point. Our square was 3″ on each side and our triangle had a 2 inch base and a 1.5 inch height. However, the exact dimensions (and even shape) are not really that important. What is important is that the tail of the arrow is much larger (has a greater surface area) than the point.

Decorate the tail and point if desired.

Place the square and triangle onto the ends of the straw. Add a little glue along each slit for added security.

Weather compass

Using the crease in the straw again as a guide, push a ball pin through the straw and into the pencil, doing your best to make everything as straight as possible. Since the square end of the straw is heavier than the triangle, placing the pin a little closer to that end will help it be better balanced and remain straight instead of tipped. Our pin is located about 1/3 of the length of the straw (about 2.5 inches) from the square end (2/3 of the length (about 5 inches) from the triangle end).

compass craft ideas

Now that I’ve showed you how to build a weather vane, your weather vane is ready! Before you use it however, you’ll want to orient the directions properly so that you know which direction the wind is coming from. To do this, you could use your own compass. However it is more fun to make your own.

how to make a compass

The first thing you need to do to make your homemade compass is to magnetize your needle by rubbing the magnet in the same direction from one end of the needle to the other for about a minute. (Do not rub it back and forth.)

Next, glue the magnetized needle onto the Styrofoam.

how to make a compass for school project

After the glue dries, place the Styrofoam and needle into a bowl of water and the needle will line up with the Earth’s magnetic field which runs between the North pole to the South pole. You can check the accuracy of your homemade compass with a real compass.

How to make a compass at home

Unfortunately, you will not know which end of your needle is north and which is south, so hopefully you will have a vague idea which direction is north already. Or use the sun as a guide, remember the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.

Once you know which direction is north, simply orient your weather vane so that your compass rose is properly aligned.

how to make a wind vane easy

The way the weather vane works is that the wind is more likely to push the tail end of the arrow than the point end since the tail end has greater surface area. The wind pushes the tail in the direction it is blowing, causing the arrow to point in the direction the wind came from. Kids can test this by simply blowing on the weather vane and seeing how the arrow always turns to point back at them. Have fun watching your kids be young meteorologists!