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How to Make a Wind Vane for Children

A wind vane, also known as a weather vane, is an outdoor tool that indicates the direction the wind is blowing. A child can easily make his own weather vane out of household items such as paper plates, sand and drinking straws. Once you make the weather vane, place it in an easily accessible area outside and low to the ground so that the child can read it.

Things You'll Need

Yogurt cup
Model putty
Sand
Super glue
Paper plate
Scissors
Straight pin
Drinking straw
Pencil
Knife
Marker
Construction paper
Compass

Instructions

- 1
  Fill a yogurt container halfway full with model putty. Fill it the rest of the way full with sand. Place the lid on the yogurt container.
- 2
  Cover the lid of the yogurt container with super glue. Turn the container upside down and press it firmly into the center of a paper plate. Let the glue dry for 10 minutes.
- 3
  Cut one 1-inch slit into each end of the drinking straw. Insert a straight pin through the center of the drinking straw, then into the eraser end of a pencil. Flick the straw to make sure it spins freely.
- 4
  Use a knife to cut a small hole through the center of the yogurt container bottom. Insert the pencil through the hole and into the putty 1 inch.
- 5
  Draw a rectangle on a piece of construction paper, 2 inches by 3 inches. Draw an equilateral triangle with 3-inch sides. Cut out the rectangle and the triangle. Slide the triangle into one slit in the straw. Slide the rectangle into the other slit.
- 6
  Take the vane outside with the marker. Set the vane down in a breezy spot. Use the compass to determine north, south, east and west. Label the directions on the paper plate with the marker.

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