MATERIALS:
• Wire coat hanger
• Wire cutters
• 2 drinking straws
• Plastic tape
• Scissors
• Poster board and permanent markers
• 2 Styrofoam pieces from fast-food dish trays
• 12-inch ruler
• 12-inch dowel or other rod
• Pen cap
• Broomstick or mop handle
• Drill (for parental use only)
• Compass
STEP 1
Cut out the straight, bottom side from a wire coat hanger. Poke a hole in the middle of each of the two drinking straws and slide them onto the wire, setting them at right angles to each other about 5 inches from one end of the wire. Secure them with tape. Cut four 2-inch squares from the poster board, label one N, one S, one E, and one W, and then tape them onto the straws to indicate the four compass points.
STEP 2
From one piece of Styrofoam, cut a triangle 2 1/2 inches at the base and 3 inches high. From the other piece, cut a rectangle 3 1/2 by 5 inches. Draw a mid-line the length of the rectangle, mark the 3 1/2-inch point on the line and use that point as the tip of a triangle that you will then cut out of the end of the piece, making the tail of your arrow. Tape the tip and the tail of the arrow to the dowel.
STEP 3
Tape the arrow to the pen cap, a bit closer to the tip than to the tail. The tip of the cap should be attached to the underside of the dowel, as it will be the pivot point for the wind vane.
STEP 4
Drill a hole in the end of the broomstick and insert the wire into it. Find a spot for your wind vane out in the open, and either set the broomstick into the ground or mount it on a suitably strong object.
STEP 5
Using your compass, orient the straws to their respective directions, and set the pen cap and arrow on the end of the wire.
STEP 6
Explain to your kids about reading a wind vane: Because the tail of the arrow is more heavily weighted than the tip, the arrow will point in the direction from which the wind is blowing. If the arrow points south, it is a south wind because wind is identified according to the direction it is blowing from.
