How to Make a Rain Gauge
Materials





one 2 litre plastic drinks bottle
one 500 ml plastic drinks bottle
scissors
measuring jug
marker pen.
Instructions






Cut the top off the 2 litre plastic drinks bottle, turn it upside down and place it
inside the top, to act as a funnel.
Fill the measuring jug with a known quantity of water, e.g. 1 cm. Then tip the
water into the 500 ml bottle. Let it settle, then mark the level with the marker pen.
Repeat this until the bottle is calibrated to about 10 cm. You now have a rain
gauge and a separate measuring bottle.
The gauge needs to be sited where it will not be knocked down or blown over. It
should not be too close to buildings or trees, as these would affect how much rain
is caught.
Rocks or sand can be used to anchor the gauge: put them around the base of the
gauge, but not too far up the side. A good anchor would be a bucket of sand that
the gauge could sit it.
Collect rainfall in the gauge, and transfer it to the measuring bottle to find out how
much has fallen.
Start a rainfall chart and record how much rain falls each day.