Children will experiment with different containers to see if water flows up or down.

Materials:

• Containers of water
• plastic wash tubs (rectangular)
• large wooden blocks
• sponges and towels (for spills)
• blue crayons

Plan:

Where?
• Which way was the water going?
• Can you get water to move uphill?
• Will it stay there?
• Let's see what happens when we pour our water.

1. Have children work in small groups.
2. Use wooden blocks to raise one end of the wash tub. Pour water into the tub at the high end. Observe how it flows.
3. Have the children try to figure out how to get the water to move uphill.
4. On a prepared worksheet, have the children show the movement of water by tracing the flow with a blue crayon. My worksheet has a hand drawn picture of an inclined wash tub, a water faucet, a sprinkler, and a stream running through mountains, very simply drawn.

• Which way did your water move?
• Did anyone find a way to get their water to move uphill?
• Did the water stay up?
• Why do you think water always moves downward?