Air may not seem like anything at all; in fact, we look right through it all the time, but during a windstorm, air really makes its presence known. Wind is able to lift roofs off buildings, blow down power lines and trees, and cause highway accidents as gusts push around cars and trucks.

Wind is moving air and is caused by differences in air pressure within our atmosphere. Air under high pressure moves toward areas of low pressure. The greater the difference in pressure, the faster the air flows. To help illustrate this concept, we created our very own pinwheels.

Students first painted small paper plates, and then spun them around a straw, watching as the pinwheel moved with the variations in air pressure (provided by them). This enabled your little one to understand the abstract concept of wind and air pressure.