Rotate the landscape, tap a feature, and discover how the whole sky works together.
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Preparing your landscape…
INTERACTIVE 3D MODELDrag to explore
SELECTED DISCOVERY
Clouds
What is a cloud made of?
Tap a visible feature to select it. Gold rings mark your selection. Drag to orbit; camera buttons work without dragging. Paths are symbolic, not visible vapor.
Rainy landscape. Drops fall; some water runs off and some soaks into soil. Follow the moving beads to explore the paths.
Learning diagram, not a forecast. Lines and moving beads show possible paths for movement and energy—not visible vapor. Not every path occurs in every scene. Sizes and distances are not to scale.
FOLLOW ONE POSSIBLE WATER JOURNEY
Where could a drop go?
Travel from sunlight to a cloud, into the soil, and through a plant. You choose when to move on.
CHANGE SOMETHING. NOTICE SOMETHING.
The discovery workshop
Make a prediction, change the world, and follow the evidence.
No timer. Every test is a clue.
DISCOVERY 01 · WHAT STARTS AIR MOVING?
Can you reverse the push?
Imagine air starting at rest. Before moving a slider, predict which way a pressure difference would push it.
1010Left · hPa
=Balanced
1010Right · hPa
Illustrative pressures. hPa is a unit of air pressure. The points stay the same distance apart. This shows one cause of motion; rotation and friction change real winds.
What this experiment leaves out
Arrows show one horizontal force, not a forecast of actual wind speed or direction. This model leaves out rotation, friction, vertical motion and the changing pressure field.
Start with a snow crystal high in a cloud. Build the air layers it will fall through, then predict what reaches the ground.
High cloud · below freezingStarts as snow
Middle · below freezingWaiting for your test
Near ground · deep coldWaiting for your test
Layer boxes are not to scale. Teaching profiles, not live weather. The surface is at or below freezing.
What these profiles assume
All particles start as snow. Selected warm layers provide enough energy and time to melt it; the deep cold example allows refreezing. Actual outcomes depend on exact temperatures, layer depths, particle sizes and partial melting. Mixtures are possible. This is not a forecast or a model of hail.
Your mission: visit a plant, then find a possible route back to soil. You choose a possible path—not what every water molecule must do.
YOU ARE HERE
Soil
Liquid in soil spaces
Your journey
Soil
Places are not equal time steps. Water can stay in some places much longer than others.
Why some moves are missing
This is a small selection of possible routes, not a complete water cycle. The correct conditions are assumed for each choice. We follow one piece of water; it does not split or multiply. Clouds are in the atmosphere, too: the vapor-to-cloud move changes state, not whether water is in the air. Cloud water is liquid in this route, although real clouds can also contain ice.
Start with air at 20°C (68°F). Add moisture, then cool it. What do you predict?
Changing settings prepares a new trial. Press Run experiment to see its result.
Preparing your cloud chamber…
CLOUD CHAMBERNew trial ready
Cloud shape illustrates the result; it does not measure droplet counts or predict rain. Before condensation, the invisible vapor is shown as clear air.
What this model leaves out
This teaching approximation estimates dew point as 20 − (100 − starting humidity) ÷ 5, in °C. It assumes condensation particles are available. It does not calculate real cloud formation, changing humidity, pressure, ice, or rain. The rendered cloud is an illustration of condensed liquid droplets, not a physical simulation of cloud shape or droplet counts. Vapor itself is invisible.
CONNECT THE CLUES
Weather detective
Clue 1 of 4 · Take your time
The white part of a cloud is mostly…
♫ Gentle narration settings
A warm, steady voice with no opening beep. Settings apply across Weather Rock, Weather World, and the playground.
This browser does not offer read-aloud. All learning content is also written on screen.
Available voice sounds vary by browser and device.