Making a Wind-vane

I am equal parts Plan Ahead and Fly-by-your Pants.


Maybe leaning a bit toward the Fly-by-your Pants side.


At any rate, we are learning about weather these days, and when a hands-on idea came to Dale and me last week, we jumped in with both feet.


I saw a picture of a make-your-own wind-vane using balsa wood in a DK book we had from the library.  It looked easy enough, except for the fact that I don't keep balsa wood on hand, ya know?


Long story short, here's what we came up with using what we had on hand:

1 curtain rod with rubber tip

1 drinking straw

1 extra long straight-pin or needle

cardstock

tape

Ours worked in the fact that it turned when the wind blew.  

However, due to the fact we were standing between a house, a fence, a storage shed, and no fewer than half-a-dozen very large trees, we weren't exactly able to tell which direction the wind was coming from.

I am certain our beautiful little contraption would work in a more open area.  Hopefully we'll remember to bring it along on our next trip to a more open area.  

And hopefully it will be windy!