Wind is air in horizontal motion. It can blow in any different compass direction.

One easy way to figure out which way the wind is blowing is to use a wind sock (a tapered, cloth tube used to indicate wind direction and intensity).  A wind sock is usually made of nylon and looks sort of like a sock with the toe cut off. It has one large end that is held open by a fixed ring, and it tapers down to a smaller open end. When the wind blows, the wind sock fills with air and its tapered end points in the direction that the wind is moving. The wind sock can also tell you the relative strength of the wind. A light wind will not hold the sock straight out. But if the sock is horizontal, there must be a strong wind.

 Modern wind socks are based on an ancient Chinese kite design. The Chinese kites were used as early as 500 B.C. Some of the kites were in the shape of dragons to frighten enemies and some were shaped like our modern wind socks. They were also used to indicate the strength and direction of wind.

Discover for Yourself

You can make a wind catcher out of paper to demonstrate how wind affects it. Do this by cutting a sheet of construction paper as shown in the diagram. The paper shown is 9 x 11 inches. To form the paper into a tapered tube, slightly overlap the cut edges and secure with tape. Use tape to secure a piece of yarn about 12 inches (30-cm) long to the larger end of the tube. The yarn makes a loop. Ask a helper to observe and describe what happens to the wind catcher when you hold the yarn loop and run with the paper wind catcher. Switch places and ask your helper to run with the wind catcher as you observe.

Results: This depends on how fast you run. If you run fast, the wind catcher fills with air and points straight out behind you. If you walk, there will not be enough air entering the wind catcher to lift it.

Math Connections:

Did you notice the Chinese characters used to label the diagram? You may not be able to read things written with Chinese symbols, but you can figure out what two of them represent. If the paper shown is 9 x 11 inches, what distance unit is being used in the diagram? Clues: 12 inches = 1 ft; 1 inch = 0.3 m; 1 inch= 2.5 cm.

More Fun with Wind

Wind chimes are made of objects that make interesting sounds when the wind causes them to bump into each other. For instructions to make your own musical chimes, see WIND CHIMES.

For more fun activities about wind and other earth science topics, see Janice VanCleave’s Earth Science for Every Kid. For more advanced learners, see Janice VanCleave’s A+ Projects in Earth Science.