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What are clouds made of?

Quick answer from Eartha

Clouds are made of millions and millions of tiny water droplets, or sometimes tiny bits of ice, floating together in the sky. Each droplet is so small and light that it can float on air, kind of like dust hanging in a sunbeam. When lots of droplets bunch up, we see a fluffy cloud.

The longer story

Clouds might look like giant cotton balls, but they're actually made of water. Tiny droplets of water, or in cold, high clouds, tiny crystals of ice, float together in huge groups.

Each droplet is so incredibly small and light that it can drift on air currents instead of falling straight down. It's a bit like how dust can float in a sunbeam without dropping to the floor.

A single cloud can be made of trillions of these tiny droplets, which is why clouds look so soft and puffy from below. The shape of a cloud depends on how the air is moving and how high up it sits.

Fluffy cloud shapes forming on a warm day usually mean rising warm air, while flat, layered clouds often mean calmer weather. Scientists study clouds to help predict what the weather will do next.

Try this at home: cloud watching

  1. Lie on a picnic rug outside and look up at the sky for a few minutes.
  2. Spot how many different cloud shapes you can find: fluffy, wispy or flat.
  3. Draw your favourite cloud shape and give it a funny name.

Words to know

droplet
A very tiny drop of water.
crystal
A tiny, neatly shaped piece of frozen water, like ice.
float
To stay up in the air or on water instead of sinking.

For grown-ups: what is my child learning here?

Age band: Ages 5-8

Curriculum link: Australian Curriculum v9 Science, Year 1 to Year 3, Earth and Space Sciences strand: observing weather and changes in the sky.

The concept: The child is learning that clouds are made of real water and ice, not fluff or cotton.

More classroom ideas are on our teachers page, and safety notes for families are on for parents.

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