With this fun, hands-on DIY thermometer experiment, students move beyond experiencing temperature every day to understanding how temperature actually works. With this experiment from Science Unlocked®, students build tools that let them see temperature change in real time.
This DIY thermometer experiment comes from the Hot and Cold Kit, where students explore how temperature affects matter through hands-on investigation.
What You’ll Need
From the kit:
- Bottle
- Clay
- Food coloring
- Isopropyl alcohol
- Pipet
- Straw
Other items:
- Water
- Paper towel
Instructions
- Unscrew the cap of the bottle and remove the dropper top. Set those pieces aside.
- Then, use the pipet to add about 10 mL of water to the bottle.
- Add a few drops of food coloring to the isopropyl alcohol. Close it and shake gently to mix.
- Pour the colored alcohol into the bottle until it is about halfway full.
- Make sure the outside of the bottle is completely dry.
- Soften the clay by warming it in your hands. Then, place the straw into the bottle.
- Shape the clay around the straw at the top of the bottle, sealing the opening while allowing the straw to extend upward. Be careful not to squeeze the bottle.
- Then, adjust the straw so it sits in the liquid but does not touch the bottom. Seal the clay tightly so the straw stays in place.
- Smooth the clay to make sure there are no gaps or openings.
- Use the pipet to add colored alcohol into the straw until the liquid level sits slightly above the clay.
- Finally, seal the top of the straw with a small piece of clay to prevent evaporation.
What’s Happening?
As the temperature around the bottle changes, the liquid inside responds. When the liquid warms, it expands and rises in the straw. When it cools, it contracts and moves back down.
This allows students to see temperature changes instead of just feeling them. The straw acts as a simple indicator, showing how the liquid responds to different conditions.
Testing Your Thermometer
Once the thermometer is built, students can then explore how it reacts in different environments.
Place it in a freezer, in ice water, in warm water, in sunlight, or even between your hands. In each setting, watch how the liquid level changes. These shifts help students connect temperature with movement in a clear, visible way.
How The DYI Thermometer Experiment Builds Knowledge
This experiment takes an abstract idea—temperature—and makes it observable.
Students aren’t just told that heat causes expansion. Even better, they watch the liquid rise and fall, then begin to connect those changes to what’s happening around them.
Within Science Unlocked, it’s one step in a sequence that helps students connect what they build to what they’re learning. The pieces are already in place, so you can focus on guiding the experience as they figure it out.
