Pinecones can predict the weather! No need for fancy equipment—pinecones are nature’s hygrometer.
All you need are three or four pine cones. Have your kids line them up on a window sill, or use some sticky tack to hold them upright. In dry weather, the pinecones open, and in wet weather they close. Even after pinecones have fallen to the ground, this process continues.
It’s all very logical! The small, lightweight seeds are under the scales. Many look like tiny maple tree helicopter seeds. Like the maple, they travel with the wind. On dry days, the tiny seeds can travel far; on a wet day, they absorb moisture and land under the tree, not away from it.
If you want to make your pinecone hygrometer look official, glue a straw to one of the scales. Place the pinecone and straw indicator near a sheet of paper and mark the movement each day and check it against the actual weather.
When you are finished weather forecasting you can recycle the pinecone. Smear some peanut butter on the pinecone and hang it in a tree. Instant bird feeder!
Copyright © 2017 by Herb Broda
