With adult help, boil your kettle and allow the water to sit until it cools a little. You don’t need really hot water, just enough for it to be still steaming.

Once the kettle has cooled a bit, carefully pour a small amount of water into the glass jar (just enough to cover the bottom of the jar).

With adult help, light a match and allow it to burn for a couple of seconds. Now blow the match out and drop it into the glass jar to put out the smouldering match in the water.

Quickly stretch your rubber glove over the entrance of the glass jar. The rubber glove should be stretched tightly across the jar but still loose enough to be able to move up and down without tearing.

• Using a latex glove:
  We’ve found that it is easier to then clamp your hands around the side of the jar so that the rubber glove fingers are not involved in the experiment.

• Using a laundry rubber glove:
  If you are using a laundry glove (and you have a large enough jar), another way is to place the glove fingers all the way into the jar and then roll the opening of the glove over the entrance of the jar. The glove should then be entirely inside the jar and be upside down when you place the jar on the table.

Now it’s time to make your cloud in a jar!

• Using a latex glove
  Pinch the middle of the stretched rubber and pull upwards.

• Using a laundry rubber glove:
  Place your hand as far into the upside-down glove as you can. Now pull the glove upwards.

In both versions, you should see a cloud momentarily form in the jar. You can then repeat the demonstration by pushing the glove back inside the jar and then pulling the glove out again.

Troubleshooting

• If you find there is too much condensation inside your jar to see the cloud, your water is too hot.

• If the cloud doesn’t form when you pull on the glove, either not enough water vapour is in the air inside the jar or you don’t have enough smoke inside the jar or finally the glove is not being out far enough to change the volume enough for the cloud to form.

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