Rain Gauge Design Brief Year 1

Introduction
The Weather Bureau takes weather readings at 9am everyday. The
measurement given is from the findings 24 hours prior. The Weather Bureau then
uses these findings to record how much rain has fallen on any particular day. The
problem with this is the fact that we do not know what these measurements are
until the Weather Bureau releases them. In order to fix this problem, we can
create our own rain gauge to figure out the amount of rain that falls, potentially
before the Weather Bureau releases them! This is where I need your help, I
would like you to help me create a rain gauge so that we can measure how much
it has been raining!

Design Brief
In your small groups you are to design your own rain gauge using the supplied
materials. You can create your rain gauge using all supplied materials, but you
MUST make sure that you read over the project specifications so that you do
not miss some of the essential items!

A rain gauge often has an opening for the water to seep into and allows you to
read the level of rainfall. Therefore, you need to create a rain gauge that
allows for water to slowly DRIP into so that we can get an accurate result of
the rainfall!

Project specifications
Features that must be included:

You MUST put rocks in the bottom of your gauge to keep it from
blowing over easily.
Your design MUST have an opening to allow water to seep in.
You must be able to measure your rain gauge using a ruler
Your gauge MUST be able to stand up on its own!

Features that may be included:

Drop of food colouring
Use of all materials available
Any modifications desired to create, decorate and cut rain gauge
(using scissors)
Funnel (using equipment available such as top of water bottle)
 Presentation
Evaluation
You must present your design by
bringing it to the back table where all Does your rain gauge stand up on its
completed gauges will be positioned own?
before trials.
Does your rain gauge hold water?
Before testing your gauge, you will give
Does your rain gauge easily over flow?
a brief explanation of what it is that
you have created & why you chose to
How much water can your rain gauge
create it the way you have!
hold?
We will first test your rain gauge using
Can you successfully measure the rainfall
the watering can before, as a class
using your gauge?
placing our rain gauges outside for a 24
hour period to test them!

*ATTENTION*

Time Allocation: 20 Minutes

Resources/support materials Links to the

Science/Technologies/Mat
Link to BOM website – This is where you can
find and compare your results to the Weather
hs Curriculum
Bureau!
Observable changes occur in the
http://www.bom.gov.au/places/wa/perth/ sky and landscape (ACSSU019 -
Scootle )

Compare observations with those

Rain Gauge Facts to extend your knowledge: of others (ACSIS213 - Scootle )

https://kids.kiddle.co/Rain_gauge Represent and communicate

observations and ideas in a
variety of ways (ACSIS029 -
Scootle )