You probably knew that rain gauges are a tool we use to measure rain, but did you know you could make your own?

Follow these steps to make your own rain gauge with materials you probably already have at home.

Supplies:

• A glass jar – make sure it has a flat bottom on the interior and an opening about as wide as the body of the jar. You don’t want the opening to be much larger or smaller than the body of the jar or it won’t be accurate.
• A ruler
• A permanent marker

Steps:

• Turn the glass jar on its side and line the ruler up to the bottom of the jar so the numbers increase as you go up to the opening of the jar from the base. If the glass is thick, make sure to line the ruler up to where the glass ends inside the jar. You don’t want to include the thickness of the glass in your rain measurements.
• Make large marks at every inch line on the side of the jar.
• Make smaller marks at every quarter inch on the side of the jar.
• Label each inch starting at 1″ at the large mark you made closest to the bottom of the jar.

It should look like this when you’re finished: