Homemade Water Filter
Layers of sand, gravel, and cotton in a bottle filter visibly dirty water, with a look at what got trapped.
Thinking
6–12 years
25–40 min
Calm
Mess OK
At homeNearby
What you need
- A plastic bottle with the bottom cut off (adult to cut)
- Cotton wool or a coffee filter
- Sand
- Small gravel or pebbles
- Deliberately dirty water (mud, leaves, a little food colouring)
- A clear jar to catch the filtered water
Setup
- An adult cuts the bottom off a plastic bottle and turns it upside down as a funnel
- Layer cotton wool, then sand, then gravel inside the bottle neck-down
- Pour dirty water through slowly and catch the result in a clear jar underneath
Play prompts
- What do you predict the water will look like after filtering?
- Which layer do you think caught the most dirt?
- Would the water be safe to drink now? Why or why not?
Ways to change it up
- Try the filter with and without the gravel layer and compare clarity
- Test filtering water with more or less mud in it
Safety notes
- Cutting the bottle must be done by an adult
- Filtered water is for observation only, not for drinking
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