Tornado in a 2 Liter!

Ever since my 3-year-old son saw The Wizard of Oz, he has been fascinated with tornados.  He will go on and on about them if you let him. After watching the Tom & Jerry: Wizard of Oz (which I absolutely recommend for your little one if they aren't quite ready for the real Wizard of Oz), they had a quick lesson and tutorial on how to make your very own tornado at home.  It's super simple, takes seconds to do and results in some fabulous little tornados that will surely fascinate your little one.

Here's what you need:

- 2 empty 2-liter bottles
- a washer (like the ones you can probably find in the garage somewhere)
- duct-tape
- water
* (optional) I put a little bit of blue food coloring and glitter in ours just to give it a little debris and add a little something extra to it

How to do it: (super simple)

1. fill one of your 2-liters at least 3/4 full of water
2. place washer on top of 2-liter opening
3. duct tape your second 2-liter on top of the water-filled 2-liter
4. flip your 2-liters (water-filled on top)
5. help get your twister started by gently wobbling the top bottle in a circular motion and TA DA! You should start to see your funnel form as the water drains into the lower 2-liter!

This is a great little science activity for the kids that will surely grab their attention.  My little guy had me flipping 2-liters for a good half-hour before he decided to take a break.  About 20 minutes later, he was back for more!!  (I had a super cute picture of him that I took on my phone, but for some odd reason Blogger won't let me add it to my post! GRR)

Please share your experiences if you decide to do this activity!  I would love to hear what your little one thought of it!  Have any other fun science experiments that you enjoy doing with your kids?  Please share!