Turn the dials for heat, water, cold and wind to make clouds, rain, snow, fog, rainbows and thunderstorms, then forecast tomorrow like a pro.
The big ideas
What the levels teach, in grown-up words.
The sun drives the weather. Sunlight warms water until some of it turns into invisible vapor that rises. Up high, cooler air turns the vapor back into tiny drops: a cloud.
Rain, snow and fog are all the same water. Drops in a cloud grow until they fall. Below freezing they fall as snow. Fog is a cloud that forms right at the ground on cool, calm, damp nights.
Water goes round in a cycle. Evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and rivers back to the sea. The same water has circled the planet for billions of years.
Wind is air on the move. Warm air rises and cooler air flows in to replace it. Land warms faster than water by day and cools faster by night, which is why sea breezes turn around after sunset.
Rainbows and thunder follow simple rules. A rainbow appears only with the sun behind you and rain in front. Lightning's light arrives at once, but its sound takes about three seconds per kilometer.
Try it at home
Quick experiments that match the game.
Cloud in a jar. Pour a little hot water into a jar, rest a plate of ice on top, and watch a small cloud form where the warm vapor meets the cold.
Rainbow with a hose. On a sunny day, stand with the sun behind you and spray a fine mist in front of you. Turn around and the rainbow disappears.
Count the thunder. In a storm, count the seconds between the flash and the boom. Divide by three for the distance in kilometers (or by five for miles).
Be the forecaster. Each evening, look at the sky and the thermometer and write a forecast for tomorrow. Check it the next day.
Ask after playing:
What did we have to turn up to make a cloud?
Why did the rain turn into snow?
Where does the sun have to be for you to see a rainbow?