I recently had my principal come in for a 45 minute classroom observation as my year end PDAS. I planned, plotted, researched and stressed out for weeks in advance. As a new teacher, I wanted everything to be "perfect." I was in the middle of a Science unit on Weather and had the perfect "hook" for the lesson. I decided to demonstrate a cloud in a bottle, but I wanted to kick it up a notch. Once I found this U-Tube video, I was sure this is how I wanted to introduce our lesson about clouds and how they can help predict the weather.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=msSVQ903T8k
I decided to adapt the experiment by utilizing a clear, 2 liter coke bottle, rubbing alcohol, a wine cork and a portable electric air compressor. A small amount of rubbing alcohol is poured into the bottom of the 2 liter bottle, it's corked and an air compressor with a needle pumps high pressure into the bottle (simulating high barometric pressure). When the air is released (low barometric pressure), the liquid molecules form a cloud inside the bottle. I accidentally pumped a bit too much air into the coke bottle and the cork exploded out and hit the ceiling, causing the principal and several students to jump back and scream. Although the experiment went a bit haywire, it made a huge impact on the kids and I kept right on teaching, explaining the importance of using safety gear (I had on goggles and had kids stand back) and how sometimes experiments are unpredictable. The cloud in a bottle was impressive and the kids are still talking about that lesson. My principal gave me incredibly high marks on that lesson for engaging the students and using interactive, higher level thinking skills for them to problem solve and make weather predictions.
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