Make your own rain gauge

You can find out how much rain falls where you live by making your own rain measure.

What you will need:

  • An empty plastic bottle (2 litre fizzy drink bottle would be ideal)
  • Scissors
  • Jelly (3 or 4 cubes made up as directed)
  • Sticky tape
  • Ruler
  • Paper
  • Pencil

What to do:

  1. Cut around the plastic bottle about two thirds of the way up.
  2. Your bottle needs a flat bottom to be able to measure the rainfall properly. Pour a few centimeters of jelly into the bottle to create a flat bottom.
  3. Turn the top part of the bottle upside down and place it inside the bottom part - fix it in place using the tape.
  4. Make a scale in centimetres on a piece of tape, using a ruler, and fix it to the side of your bottle.
  5. Find a place outside to put your rain gauge. It must be open and away from trees.
  6. Dig a hole and bury your rain gauge so that the top is sticking out of the ground. This will stop the rain gauge from blowing down on windy days.
  7. Check the rain gauge every day at the same time, measure the amount of rain collected, and empty the bottle.
  8. Don't forget to write down the amount of rain collected in your weather diary.