Michael Strong asks six-year-old Alana questions about clouds, evaporation, and rain. She explains how the sun heats water into vapor, wind moves clouds around, and fog is just clouds near the ground. Her reasoning comes from a Magic School Bus episode and watching the world.
Yes, I am. I can't really hear you.
Maybe if I get closer. How about this? Is this better?
Not really.
Can you turn the sound up on your side? Maybe your computer needs to be louder.
It'll maybe be just a little louder then.
How about this? If I speak loudly, is that better?
I can hear you a little bit, if that's fine.
Okay, as long as you can understand me.
Yes, I can.
Okay, what are you doing today?
Well, the only thing I know, the reason we have to, um, call early is because I had a playdate with my friend in the morning at a playground.
That sounds like fun.
I don't know what else.
That sounds like fun. Are you excited about that?
I am.
Cool. So I wanted to just think about clouds a little bit. Do you have any idea where clouds come from?
I think they come from evaporation water.
I see. And how did you, how did you learn that?
Because, um, I think I learned on this video called The Magic School Bus. On one of the episodes, they learned how So I remembered.
That's marvelous, that's marvelous. Do you remember when we were doing an experiment to see how water evaporated, like in your kitchen?
I don't really remember.
That's okay, that was a long time ago. So what does evaporation mean? What does it mean for water to evaporate?
Well, when the air gets I mean, when the sun gets hot, it pulls the water up and becomes water going up in the air where you can see a little bit.
And you can see a little bit in the clouds, or can you see it when it's going up?
You can see just a little bit when it's going up. So like if you put water in a pot and you put a top over it and you set it for a few seconds, And you put the top off, you can see these little driplets, and those are the evaporation waters because they couldn't get out, so they stuck to it.
They stuck to the top of the lid, you mean?
Yes.
I see. So why do you think sometimes we have lots of clouds and sometimes we only have a few clouds?
Well, maybe that's because the air isn't that hot. So water, which doesn't go up very much, it doesn't really go up in that day.
So you're thinking the hotter it is, the more the water evaporates?
Yes, I'm thinking that.
Okay. No, this makes a lot of sense. I'm really impressed you remember and understand The way the clouds work. And then what do you think happens when it rains?
All the water that evaporated goes down to a different world or the same?
By different world, you mean a different part of the world?
Yeah, a different part of the world, because when it becomes clouds, the wind pushes it somewhere else. And when it evaporated.
Have, have you ever been hiking somewhere where it was foggy?
Not really.
Um, have you ever been around the fog ever anywhere?
Well, I've been in my car in fog.
What do you think fog is?
Fog is evaporation water, clouds close to the surface.
Okay, have you ever felt it, how wet it is? The fog can feel a little bit wet.
I have actually. I don't really remember touching it.
Okay, have you been in an airplane that flies through clouds ever?
Through clouds? I would say all the airplanes that I went, it was sunny, I think. Okay, sunny or night.
Okay, someday you should watch when you fly if you go through the clouds. I think it's really cool because, you know, the plane just goes right through them.
Yeah.
Just like your car goes through fog, right?
Yeah.
Okay, and then what does the wind do to clouds?
Wind doing to clouds?
Yeah, I guess I'm wondering, why do clouds look different? Why are clouds all different kinds of shapes?
Because the water molecules all go in different sides, so it makes it go that way and this way, I think.
So do you think different shaped clouds have different kinds of water molecules, or is there some other reason that different shaped clouds look different?
Well, that's what I can think of, but I'm thinking that.
Okay. Have you ever seen the clouds moving across the sky?
I— yes, I've seen them.
Why do you think clouds move across the sky?
Because the wind is pushing them slowly, because they're— because if they're big, they stay where they are, but even if they're big, they're moving slowly.
Got it. No, I think that's exactly right. Sounds like you know a lot about nature. Do you like observing nature?
Yes, I go out a lot in the trees and—
Do you like observing trees better or clouds or sky or sun, or is it all the same?
All the same, but I mostly like to study like trees, clouds, the sky.
Do you like studying them by observing them or by watching videos about them or reading books about them or learning from parents?
I just like to like watch them and see how they move, see how their life is, and observe.
Well, I think you are quite quite an observer, and you really do understand clouds remarkably well. Well, I don't want to keep you too long. Any other ideas you want to talk about this morning?
I don't really know. What's your ideas?
Well, I was going to figure out clouds with you, and you just know so much so quickly. I was kind of done with clouds. We basically, yeah, water evaporates to form the clouds and then the wind pushes them and then the— actually, this is one. Why do you think, why does it rain when it rains? That is, some clouds don't have rain and other clouds do have rain. Why do you think some clouds rain and other clouds don't?
'Cause maybe the clouds don't catch the water. They move too fast, maybe.
The ones that are not yet raining?
Yeah.
Okay, that's an interesting hypothesis. So you're thinking maybe clouds have to be either stationary or moving slowly before they can catch enough water to rain?
Yes.
Okay, well, I want you to keep observing the world and learning from these videos and Books and things. What book are you reading these days?
Well, I'm mostly reading— I'm mostly reading like chapter books, like, um, well, not really chapter books, but I'm reading some chapter books.
Okay, okay. Well, hopefully we'll talk next week, and in the meantime, have a really fun playdate with your friend, okay?
Okay.
Bye-bye.
Bye. I'll see you next week?
You too. Bye-bye. Bye.
