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Shaving Cream Rain Cloud Science Experiment

By Stephanie on March 24, 2020 | Updated December 30, 2020 | Rate Recipe

As an Amazon Associate and affiliate with other networks, I may earn a commission from purchases made through links within this post. For more information read my disclosure page  here .

Shaving Cream Rain Cloud Science Experiment . Using a glass, shaving cream, water, and food coloring you can explore how rain clouds work!

If you are working on learning about the water cycle and looking for an easy science experiment to show how clouds work this Shaving Cream Rain Cloud Science Experiment is perfect. This rain cloud science project is perfect for kids in preschool thru elementary school. It is easy to do and the kids will have fun with it and be able to learn how rain clouds actually work.

Looking for more learning activities for kids? Check these out!

• How Plants Drink Water Celery Science Experiment
• Homemade Cloud dough
• Homemade Playdoh
• DIY Forky Craft
• Homemade Air Dry Clay
• Dish Soap Slime

How do Clouds work?

Clouds are formed when water vapor rises into the air and then when the water vapor hits cold air they turn back into water droplets. Those water droplets collect together along with other particles in the air like dust to form a cloud.

Once a cloud is formed it continues to attract water droplets. Over time clouds get so full of water that they can’t hold any more and the water falls back to the ground as rain.

How to make rain Clouds with Shaving Cream

With this easy science experiment we are going to demonstrate using water, shaving cream and food coloring how a rain cloud collects water and then rains when it gets too full.

Using shaving cream and food coloring you will be able to show how rain moves through the cloud and comes out as rain. You will want to make sure you use a dark colored food dye and white shaving cream when doing this so they can actually see the process happen. My favorite shaving cream to use for this experiment is the cheap dollar store stuff or if you are needing to order from Amazon, Barbasol is my go to.

Homeschool Clouds Lesson Plan Ideas

If you are working on a weather unit for homeschooling then this Shaving Cream Rain Cloud Science Experiment is a great science experiment. If you are focusing on clouds and rain specifically then there are lots of other resources you can use that go along with this science experiment.

You can watch the Sid the Science kid episode on PBS kids here , or grab the Sid the Science Kid Weather DVD on Amazon .

Use the form below to snag this Shaving Cream Rain Cloud Printable that we have created for you to use along with this science experiment! This printable has a section for the kids to write their hypothesis, their observations and their conclusions while doing this experiment. Once you sign up, it will send you an email to download your free printable!

If you are doing this science experiment with preschoolers or elementary kids then you can also incorporate the Little Cloud Book by Eric Carle , and make the Rain Cloud Craft or the Cloud Shapes Preschool craft .

Paint Cloud photos using homemade puffy paint , or if you can go outside use homemade sidewalk paint to draw different cloud shapes in the driveway.

Shaving Cream Rain Cloud Science Experiment  Supplies

• See through container or glass
• Small cup or container
• White shaving cream
• 7 drops blue Food coloring
• 1 cup Water

Shaving Cream Rain Cloud Science Experiment Directions

Pour water into your small cup and add the drops of blue food coloring into the cup.

In your clear containers, add water so it fills up halfway.

Top that water off with shaving cream till it reaches the top of the container, set aside for about 5 minutes for the shaving cream to settle on top of the water.

With your droppers suck up the colored water and pour it over the shaving cream. Continue to fill the shaving cream cloud with the food coloring/water mixture until the shaving cream cloud can no longer hold the water.

Watch as the colored water travels through the cloud and creates rain in the water below in the glass.

You can add different colors of food coloring and water to see what happens as you keep adding more if you would like to. Just repeat the processes using the same set up you already have.

ABOUT LAUREN

Hey There! I am Lauren, a short mom (4 foot 10 to be exact!) who has a passion for helping others and always has a cup of coffee in hand. With amazing recipes to help the home cook become a home chef, along with fun family travel, fun crafts and More! Grab a cup of coffee and join me! Read more...

Created by Stephanie

With a degree from the Culinary Institute of America in baking and pastry arts, a love for tasty food and amazing photography skills Stephanie brings the amazing recipe ideas we come up with to life. Stephanie loves crafting, all things Disney and traveling whenever possible.

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Shaving Cream Rain Clouds Science Experiment

Shaving cream rain clouds are a funny and easy science project that illustrates key science concepts, such as density, mixing, and how clouds work. Once you master the basics, turn the project into a science experiment by tweaking the materials and methods.

All you need are a few basic materials from home:

• Shaving cream
• Food coloring
• Glass or jar

Let’s Make Shaving Cream Clouds!

• Fill the glass mostly full of cold water. Why use cold water? The reason is because warmer water more readily degrades the shaving cream and also disperses the food coloring.
• Dispense a “cloud” of shaving cream on top of the water. Don’t make the layer too think or else the food coloring won’t make it all the way to the water.
• Add drops of food coloring to the top of the clouds. Blue is the traditional color for rain, but you can explore color theory if you get creative.
• Watch as the food coloring “rain” falls from the shaving cream “cloud”.

The Science Behind Shaving Cream Rain Clouds

Shaving cream floats on water because it has a lower density than water. Similarly, clouds float in the atmosphere, even though the average cumulus cloud weighs over one million pounds. It hardly seems possible that a cloud doesn’t just sink to the ground! Keep two facts in mind. First, clouds are huge, so they rest on top of a gigantic air column. Second, clouds kind of do fall, when you think about it.

When a nimbus cloud (the type of cloud that produces precipitation ) holds more water than the air can support, the excess falls as rain, snow, or sometimes hail. Similarly, when you drip food coloring onto shaving cream, it is heavier than the foam and falls through the fake cloud. Eventually it enters the water (the “atmosphere” in this project).

The food coloring consists of pigment and water. It readily mixes with the water. If two different colored drops come into contact or mix together in the water, you get new colors.

Turn the Science Project Into a Science Experiment

Performing the shaving cream rain clouds project fulfills the first step of the scientific method , which is making observations. From your observations, think of things you can change about the project and make a prediction about the effect of this change. In other words, form a hypothesis and conduct an experiment that tests this hypothesis. Finally, evaluate the results of your experiment and decide whether you accept or reject your hypothesis. Often, this process gives you ideas for new experiments.

Here are some ideas:

• Examine the effect of water temperature on cloud stability and “rain” formation.
• Can you replace the shaving cream with another material? Examples might include whipped cream or egg whites.
• What happens if you introduce another layer between the water and shaving cream? For example, do you get “rain” if there is a thin layer of vegetable oil on top of the water? (Hint: This is the basis for the fireworks in a glass project.)
• What happens if you use paint, colored sugar, or ink instead of food coloring?
• Does changing the size or shape of the container affect the outcome?
• Predict what happens if you replace water with another liquid, such as oil or milk.
• Burroughs, William James; Crowder, Bob (2007).  Weather . San Francisco: Fog City Press. ISBN 978-1-74089-579-8.
• Freud, E.; Rosenfeld, D. (2012). “Linear relation between convective cloud drop number concentration and depth for rain initiation”.  Journal of Geophysical Research . 117 (D2). doi: 10.1029/2011JD016457
• Jaramillo, A.; Mesa, O. (June 19, 2017). “On the relative density of clouds.”  Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meterological Society . Vol. 144; Iss. 707, pp. 2650-2653. doi: 10.1002/qj.3099
• Young, Hugh D.; Freedman, Roger A. (2012).  University Physics with Modern Physics . ISBN 978-0-321-69686-1.

Related Posts

Three Shaving Cream Experiments You Can Do Anywhere

Krystal DeVille

Updated on: January 24, 2024

The properties of shaving cream make an excellent base for a myriad of experiments.

Plus, it allows tiny hands to become very messy while learning scientific principles. From foamy explosions to endothermic reactions (safe, of course!), we show the most creative experiment with shaving cream that will keep young children amazed!

Before we get into cloud experiments, grab my free eBook with over 25 STEM experiments for kids. For all my free downloads,   check out this page .

Table of Contents

Shaving Cream Experiments

Most of these experiments are very easy to use but are extremely messy. Be sure that clothes are protected, and tables are covered while making some of them. Then, be prepared for some messy fun!

Shaving Cream Alternative

Due to age, many people may not want to have young children playing with shaving cream because they could ingest it. To avoid this, you can make your own aquafaba . Aquafaba is a vegan alternative to using egg whites. It creates a foam that is like shaving cream inconsistency by using a can of chickpeas.

To make it, strain the liquid from the chickpeas and spend a few minutes beating them with a mixer. The liquid should quickly transform into a stiff foam. You can add a tiny bit of cream of tartar to the mixture to increase the stiffness.

1. Shaving Cream Rain Clouds

• Age Range: Toddler to elementary school
• Total Time: 5 minutes
• Difficulty Level: Easy

This experiment is quick and easy. Parents can use it to demonstrate how weather works by using this simple methodology.

The shaving cream is representative of a cloud, while water is the atmosphere. When food coloring is added to the shaving cream, the weight will push through the shaving cream as rain bursts through clouds and reaches the earth.

Have fun with it and let them try different colors!

It’s probably better to do this STEM activity outside if the weather is nice. As your kids are filling up their cups with shaving cream, the cup can easily knock over.

• Food coloring (with Vibrant colors)
• Clear Jar/Container
• Shaving Cream

Instructions:

• Fill a clear container ¾ full of water.
• Shake the shaving cream to get foam.
• Place a layer of shaving cream on the top of the water to represent clouds. Ensure that you cover the surface of the water completely with shaving cream.
• Add lots of food coloring over top of the shaving cream. This will be the rain.
• Watch as the food coloring filters through the “clouds” and into the water as rain.

The Science Behind the Experiment

Clouds are formed when water vapor rises back into the air. Condensation builds in the clouds as a result of the dampness in the atmosphere. As the vapor becomes heavier, gravity eventually pulls water down from the clouds and falls from the sky. This is the rain we see on earth.

We love STEM activities at our house and finding new and interesting ways of exploring. A great way of finding something new is not to look further, but to look closer. Please join us in our Microscope Activities Guide ; we explore by seeing what we can’t see.

2. Snow Fluff

• Age Range: Toddler to Pre-K
• Total Time: 10 minutes
• Difficulty Level: Easy (for parents)

This science experiment is simple, and children will love getting their hands dirty making this snow fluff. It will provide hours of entertainment for them as well.

• Food coloring
• 1 cup shaving cream
• 1 cup corn starch
• Pour the cornstarch into a big bowl. Using a spoon, scoop shaving cream on top of the corn starch. Place 5-10 drops of food coloring on top of the mixture. Stir the mixture until everything is perfectly blended.
• When the mix has a grated cheese appearance, squish the mix with your hands even more.
• After a while, it will form a ball that will have a dough-like texture.
• If the mix is very wet and sticky, it may require additional corn starch. If it’s crumbly, add more shaving cream.
• Now, the mixture is ready. It can now be sculpted into snow creatures.

Small bits of corn starch become mixed with the shaving cream. They suspend in the mixture to create color. The shaving cream has many minuscule bubbles. The surface tension on the top of those bubbles helps the corn starch “float” the particles when the two are combined.

3. It’s Snowing!

• Age Range: Pre-K to elementary school

This is a great fake snow experiment that is fun to do indoors during warm weather.

The best part is that it’s not as cold, and you don’t have to bundle the kids up to go outside! It illustrates an endothermic reaction.

It looks a lot like the Snow Fluff experiment that my kids did above, but the texture is different. It feels kind of dry and not slimy like the Snow Fluff.

• Foaming shaving cream
• 1 lb baking soda

This experiment makes enough fake snow for two children to use. The recipe’s proportions will have to be changed for additional kids. While the chemical reaction is on the cold side, the foam shaving cream can be placed in the refrigerator a few hours before the experiment to make it colder.

If you’d like, cover your table during the experiment. None of the ingredients are toxic or harmful. However, the powdery consistency of the baking soda can be very messy.

• Pour all the baking soda into a big bowl.
• Place half a can of shaving cream into the mixture. It should have enough shaving cream to coat the top of the baking soda three to four inches in depth.
• Stir the mixture slowly while scraping the bottom of the bowl to combine the entire box of baking soda. As they mix, powdery snow-like flakes will begin to appear. Furthermore, it is a bit cold like snow. If the shaving cream is too much for the baking soda to cling to then sprinkle more baking soda.
• Spill it out onto a table and enjoy creating things with snow.

STEM Education Guide Tip: Put your shaving cream in the refrigerator and the freezer for a little bit before starting this science experiment. That way it will feel more like snow!

To Further Enhance the Fun…

What kid doesn’t like to see an explosion? Curious children asked whether vinegar added to the mixture would cause it to explode. To do this, add white vinegar to a bowl and place the “snow” in it. This will turn the snow into a fizzy, volcanic explosion.

For more easy experiments that will fizzle and pop, please take a look at our article, Fun & Easy Baking Soda and Vinegar Experiments for Kids .

Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) when mixed with sorbitol/lanolin/acid compound of the shaving cream generates a cool mixture. This is called an endothermic reaction. This is a great experiment because this is a difficult experiment to demonstrate endothermic reactions without using chemicals.

These are just a few experiments that you can conduct with shaving cream. Shaving cream provides a foamy backdrop for hours of fun teaching scientific principles to young children. In addition to the children learning, they can spend hours engaging in tactile fun.

4. Shaving Cream Color Lines

• Baking sheet
• Small painting brush
• Food coloring or paints

In this shaving cream experiment, I wanted my daughter to think of new colors when base colors are mixed. She knows a few of them like blue and red make purple, but she had to guest on other ones.

That’s why this activity is great! It will be easier for her to remember how base colors mix because she had fun learning how.

How to set Shaving Cream Color Lines Up:

On a piece of paper have your kids write out the base colors. Red plus blue equals, Yellow plus red equals, etc.

Make a few lines of shaving cream on the baking sheet with the shaving cream

Add the base paints or food coloring drops to the lines.

With a paintbrush, your kids will mix the base colors together to find out what new colors are made. On the piece of paper, they can record their findings.

Color mixing is essentially a process where a secondary color is generated by mixing the appropriate proportion of base primary colors. Mixing paints or colors together is a great opportunity for your kids’ to observe changes around them.

5. Shaving Cream Art

This shaving cream art activity goes along with the shaving cream color lines above, because you’ll already have all the material out on the table.

Since this activity is more STEAM (art) than STEM, I asked her what she wanted to draw. My daughter wanted to draw the face in the shaving cream. She started by drawing the face on a piece of paper, then adding drops of color in areas where it would need to go.

The next step was fun; she pushed and pulled the drops of color in the shaving cream with the paint brushing, making a face on the shaving cream canvas.

Wrapping Up

I like STEM experiments with shaving cream because most of them don’t need special materials. In fact, I already had everything at home that I needed.

They can be done inside or out. I didn’t find these experiments that messy so I didn’t mind doing them inside, but it’s up to you.

If you’d like some structured experiments that are easy to set up, please take a look at our Yellow Scope Chemistry review that I did with my daughter.

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Shaving Cream Rain Clouds Science Experiment

Published May 1, 2020 . Last updated May 1, 2020 by Liz . This post may contain affiliate links.

The shaving cream rain clouds science experiment is quick, easy, and lots of fun for young kids. You can easily demonstrate to your child how a common weather event works with this simple experiment.

In the “shaving cream rain clouds” experiment, the shaving cream represents a cloud, and the water represents the atmosphere. When you add food coloring to the shaving cream, the weight of it will push through the surface of the shaving cream, just like rain pushes through the clouds and falls to the earth!

We tried the experiment several times at my house – the kids loved it, and I actually enjoyed it myself. It makes it easy to explain how condensation builds up and creates rain. Plus the shaving cream smells really good, so that’s a bonus.

• Shaving cream
• Clear jar (or glass, pitcher, whatever!)
• Food coloring

Method (The Quick Steps)

• Fill your jar up 3/4 of the way to the top with water
• Shake up the shaving cream
• Spray a layer of shaving cream onto the top of the water. Make sure to cover the surface of the water
• Add lots of drops of food coloring to the top of the shaving cream
• Watch as the food coloring works its magic!

The Shaving Cream Rain Clouds Experiment (With Photos)

As you can see my kid was a little over-zealous with the shaving cream! You may want to knock a little off the top so it doesn’t look like a giant gnome-head, but that’s really up to you. If you like garden gnomes, by all means proceed with abandon.

There, that’s better. A reasonable amount of shaving cream.

You can add the food coloring a few drops at a time. It will look like this:

Or you can let your kid mix the food coloring with water, and then drizzle it over the top using an eye dropper or medicine dispenser! This isn’t necessary, it just adds a bit of fun for your kid.

Experiment with doing it both ways! My son LOVED drizzling the food coloring over the top of the shaving cream with his little medicine dispenser. If that’s what it takes for him to live his best life right now, so be it.

It looked delicious! You may want to remind your kid not to eat it. And also remind yourself if you’re the type to eat children’s science experiments. 🙂

Within a few seconds, the food coloring will begin to drizzle down below the surface of the shaving cream.

As you can see, once the food coloring (aka “rain”) gets heavy enough to break through the shaving cream (aka “clouds”), you get a rainstorm!

If your child is a straight-laced type he or she might like to do the experiment using just blue food coloring.

(Not that rain is blue, but I guarantee if you have a little realist on your hands they’ll choose blue because kids always seem to think water is blue despite the fact that it’s quite apparently not blue.)

But I digress. We thought it was fun to use lots of different colors at the same time.

You could also line up a few jars like in the video below, and watch the colors fall side by side! The sky’s the limit here. Assuming the sky is the size of a small glass jar.

The Science Behind the Shaving Cream Rain Clouds Experiment

Clouds form when water when vapor rises into the air. Condensation then builds up in the clouds. As it gets heavier, gravity pulls the water down out of the clouds and through the atmosphere. And we get rain falling from the sky!

Why I Like This Experiment

This experiment hits all the marks for me – it’s easy, it requires no prep and only two “materials” (shaving cream and food coloring). And it actually demonstrates something that kids will relate to (how rain works).

The kids had a great time, including my toddler, who I let muck around with food coloring mixed into shaving cream while we were running the experiment.

Everyone was happy. Including me.

Shaving Cream Rain Clouds

The shaving cream rain clouds science experiment demonstrates how rain falls from the sky!

When you put food coloring on top of shaving cream (aka "clouds"), the weight of it pushes through the surface, just like rain pushes through the clouds and falls from the sky.

• Shaving Cream
• Food Coloring

Instructions

• Spray a layer of shaving cream onto the top of the water.

This experiment is appropriate for Kindergarteners or Preschoolers.

If you’re looking for more easy science experiments for kids, you might want to try these ideas:

Magic Water: Water Suspension Science Experiment for Kids

10 Quick and Simple STEM Activities for Kindergarten

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Water Cycle Unit Study: Rain Cloud Experiment (Shaving Cream Style)

The Fervent Mama uses Affiliate Links. See our disclosure policy here .

If you haven’t seen our amazing new resource, Water Cycle Unit Study: Why does it rain?, then you’re absolutely in the right place for your next project! I told you about all the rain we’ve been having lately, and how my five-year-old is always asking, “ Are the raindrops finished yet? “

Hopefully, this Water Cycle Study may help our little homeschoolers have a little more understanding of why it rains and how important this cycle is for our ecosystem. This rain cloud experiment shaving cream is perfect for before or after the study. You can use it as an intro to the study or as a fun activity after!

This science experiment is so easy but can get pretty messy, so be sure you’re prepared. Of course, the kids totally love the mess though. I’m a child at heart, so I have to be honest. The messier, the more fun in my opinion. But then I have to clean up the mess too so…….

How to set up the experiment

It takes just a few simple components that you probably already have in your pantry. Notice I put a large clear bowl as one item, however, some people use a jar instead. This idea is for you and your kids to be able to clearly see the the rain cloud begin through the unit study water cycle process.

In order to conduct the rain cloud experiment, you will need a few materials. These include:

• a large clear bowl or a container you can see through
• food coloring
• foaming shaving cream

And I’m not sure exactly who came up with this experiment first, but we’ve thrown a new spin on it by adding the baby oil!

Because water and oil don’t mix, the baby oil sits on top of the water creating a clear barrier between the shaving cream and the water. This barrier allows you to watch the “rain” fall in “drops” into the oil, then stream down through the water. It’s such a neat rain cloud experiment shaving cream style, right?!

The more oil you add, the bigger the clear barrier, and the better view you will have of ‘raindrops’. I suggest a large barrier so that little eyes really get to see the action happening. The photo below is our baby oil barrier. Johannah kept adding her drops in the same spot in hopes of creating a hurricane, hence the very large bubble.

The steps of the rain cloud experiment shaving cream are just as easy as gathering the ingredients. Fill your bowl about halfway with water then add as much baby oil as you would like for your barrier.

Wait a minute or two to be sure that the oil and water fully separate, then start your shaving cream cloud. Basically, just smear it all over the top of the water – it will do the work for you.

Again, let a little settling happen. While you’re waiting, gather a small bowl, fill it with water and add your food coloring to your desired rain color.

Now you can take your pipette, fill it with colored water, and begin filling your rain cloud. Just stick the tip into various places in the shaving cream and watch as it grows and colored water drops begin to fall as rain.

Observe and record the experiment

Once the rain cloud experiment is set up, you can observe what happens. The shaving cream and food coloring will create a rain cloud, and the addition of water will simulate rain, along with the baby oil.

Be sure to watch carefully as the colors mix and rain falls!

You can use the sheets inside of the below unit study that includes this experiment to record your observations and even your hypothesis of what your kids think will happen.

Looking for the whole Water Cycle Unit Study ? Head over here to read more about it and find even more resources to get your little one involved in learning more about how rain affects our ecosystem!

If you’re serious about taking the next step after this science experiment, I have the perfect little ebook for you! The Water Cycle Ebook is a 10-page digital download that explains the water in an easy to understand way. Follow along the pages to learn more about how rain affects our lives!

Water Cycle Unit Study: Rain Cloud Experiment (Shaving Cream)

If you’re looking for other homeschooling activities to help pound education into your kid’s brains- totally kidding about that last part-  then head over to the shop and check our other Free Printable Options .

If you’ve done this experiment, we’d love to hear about it! Be sure to come back and share with us all the fun you had creating your own little rain clouds!

Looking for other Homeschooling Resources? Check out all of our posts on schooling by checking our  “homeschooling” tab  or heading to  our Shop  for free and paid printables and activities. If you want to join a community of Christian Homeschooling Mom’s like you, join our Facebook group,  Fervent Christian Homeschoolers !

One Comment

Hi! I’m trying to collect the MESSIEST science experiments possible for a children’s book I’m writing, and I came across this post. I’m wondering if it would work with whipped cream as opposed to shaving cream. Also, if you have any other messy experiments you love (I really want my character to make a mess!), please send me more of your links!

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Laughing Kids Learn

Where learning is made fun

Rain cloud science experiment

May 25, 2015 by Kate 34 Comments

Here is a super simple science experiment that teaches children about clouds and  rain . It’s great fun to do at home or in the classroom and this rain cloud science experiment  only uses commonly found ingredients. 

I remember coming across a fun little science experiment while adding various pins to my Pinterest account . Super simple and using only a few commonly found ingredients , I knew we had to give it a go. It might just explain the concept of rain as a visual representation. 

Recommended age: 2 years +  (Active supervision is required on all ideas shared)

You will need – 

• Glass or jar
• shaving cream
• food colouring

Simply begin by asking your child to pour water into the glass, leaving about an inch from the rim. 

Carefully add a layer of shaving cream to the water. Be sure not to make it too thick or you’ll find you’re having to wait a long time for the magic to begin and that’s a bit boring. The shaving cream represents a cloud and the water is the atmosphere. 

Possum absolutely loved watching the streams of blue food colouring fall like droplets through the shaving cream and then swirl around the water. She was inspired to ask lots of great questions but also found it a lovely and calming experience. Hopefully you get a chance to have a go at this experiment with the little ones in your life. I really hope they enjoy it. 

How old are your children and would they enjoy this?  

Here are a few other ideas you might like – 

March 2, 2016 at 2:16 pm

You named your child possum…..

March 2, 2016 at 5:46 pm

Yes! Lovely name, isn’t it. 😀

March 5, 2016 at 12:22 am

August 24, 2016 at 2:15 am

This is so cool . I am 10 years old and loved doing this . I have done this for my home work and I am proud.thanks for the support.

August 24, 2016 at 9:24 pm

Oh Cheyenne, that’s so awesome. Congratulations and I’m glad you had fun doing this. 🙂

November 3, 2020 at 8:19 am

what are the ingredents for the rain cloud siencie ecperiment???

March 30, 2017 at 8:47 am

This is so cool I am going use this for my science fair project

March 30, 2017 at 2:10 pm

That’s so awesome and it would be perfect for a science project. 🙂

June 17, 2016 at 5:00 am

My son is 11 and he will enjoy this! I think as a tween boy he’ll enjoy black food colour. 🙂

June 17, 2016 at 10:46 am

Hi Lucinda! Oh I have no doubt your 11 year old would love this. It would be interesting to see it with black food colouring. 🙂

June 21, 2016 at 1:27 pm

ok, this is perfect! I know some of my kiddos in the clinic (paed OT) would love to do this – this week! (and my son too!) Thanks for the inspiration!

June 21, 2016 at 9:19 pm

Oh I can just imagine Anna! Thank you so kindly for your comment. 🙂

August 2, 2016 at 4:04 am

The little guys love anything with water. This is great.

August 2, 2016 at 8:37 am

Totally agree with you. Thanks Kev.

September 12, 2016 at 8:08 am

We are using it his for our science fair experiment and have lots of fun watching the food colouring react to the shaving cream.Thank you LAUGHING KIDS LEARN.

September 12, 2016 at 8:13 pm

That’s so fabulous! Thanks guys. 🙂

March 18, 2017 at 12:30 pm

Could you use whipped cream or ‘cool whip’ instead of shaving cream with the same results?

March 21, 2017 at 12:58 pm

I think you possibly could Shelley. It would be worth giving it a go. 🙂

September 7, 2021 at 11:11 am

it would probably stink and grow mold.

April 17, 2017 at 8:54 am

Can you use plastic clear cups for this activity?

April 17, 2017 at 6:14 pm

Absolutely Cindy! Have fun with this idea.

April 29, 2019 at 4:17 pm

Hi there im 12 and i have a class science projet and i have no idea what todo and my mum told me about this experiment so i think i will do it because its easy to talk about,cheap,and easy todo

May 1, 2019 at 11:26 am

Fantastic Mia. Glad I could help you out. Good luck with it all.

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[…] And then the rain came again, so time for painting and science!  We did a simple experiment to look at clouds and how rain is formed.  You can find how to do it, here. […]

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Rainbow Rain – Rain Cloud in a Jar

Sometimes you need a simple activity, that teaches some fundamental science principles, while also being absolutely breathtakingly beautiful. This is that activity! Rainbow Rain also known as Shaving Cream Rain Cloud or Rain Clouds in a Jar, is a simple demonstration that will add some gorgeous colour and WOW factor to your weather science lessons.

Shaving Cream Rain Clouds Simple Science Experiment

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In this activity we are learning about the weather and why it rains. Fundamental concepts but with a gorgeous, colourful, rainbow twist.

Rainbow activities are always fun as they make boring activities vibrant and exciting. So with this activity we could have stuck with a simple blue rain, but we wanted more excitement!

Plus this activity leads to a lot of different investigations and critical thinking if you let kids explore their curiosity, ask questions, and create their own variations of this activity to see what happens.

This is some of the most powerful learning for kids, because it fosters a love of learning.

Rainbow Shaving Cloud Supplies

For this activity you need:

A wide mouth jar, cup, vase or container. You can also do this in a series of cups, one for each colour. The only requirement is that the containers are clear so you can see what is happening.

Food Colouring – Water based in the squeezeable droppers is easiest, but you can adapt to any type. See our variation of this activity below for one twist!

Shaving Cream

Start by filling your container about about 3/4 full with water.

Add shaving cream at the top to create the cloud.

Now add the food colouring by dropping it onto your cloud.

Watch for your rainbow rain to start falling as your clouds fill with liquid.

Shaving Cream Rain Cloud Science

Clouds are formed from water vapour that forms into droplets in the sky. These droplets gather together, until they become so heavy that they fall down to the Earth as rain (or snow if it’s cold).

The rain falls due to gravity and is part of the water cycle .

In this experiment our rain is the the food colouring which is a water based. As we add it to our shaving cream cloud, the cloud swells with liquid just like a cloud until it becomes so heavy it falls into our water below.

There is a second scientific phenomenon we can witness as our colourful rain mixes with our water, it is called diffusion. You can learn more about diffusion here .

Cloud in a Jar Extensions

Like any great experiment, we want our kids to ask questions, to wonder, and to come up with new theories and experiments they can do to test their theories. This is part of the Scientific Method .

With our experiment we discussed different options like how water temperature might affect our results . But the thing that peaked our curiosity was the fact that water concentration in the clouds is what causes rain, so what if we increased the amount of water by diluting our food colouring?

Dig deeper! Make a Cloud in a Jar with water vapours, just like real clouds in these easy experiments .

Rainbow Rain Experiment 2

For this rain cloud variation we needed some additional glasses to mix up our food colouring with water. We also needed a way to add the colourful mixtures to our clouds. We decided on a syringe, but a pipette or even a spoon would have worked.

Then we conducted our experiment the same way we did but this time with our diluted food colouring mixes.

The results were similar but we did notice that the shaving cream cloud got much heavier and darker before releasing our colours.

Such a cool result!

This simple experiment is so much fun and a great way to foster curiosity and fun with science. If you enjoyed this experiment you might want to try one of these simple science experiments for kids.

Happy Experimenting!

5 Days of Smart STEM Ideas for Kids

Get started in STEM with easy, engaging activities.