Weather Tidbits: Make Your Own Hygrometer

We’ll be discussing how you can make your own hygrometer in this edition of Weather Tidbits. A hygrometer is a weather instrument that measures the amount of humidity in the air. The materials needed for this experiment include a rectangular cut out of cardboard, two pieces of tape, a long strand of hair, a thumbtack or pushpin, and a rectangular cut out of construction paper. Fold the end of the cardboard to make it stand vertical. Tape the hair strand onto the cardboard. Cut the construction paper into an arrow and stick the arrow onto the cardboard with the pushpin at the end, while the hair supports the arrow itself via the tape. Where the arrow points, draw a scale from dry to humid. Dry further up, and humid further down. When muggier outside, the hair absorbs water and grows in length. With lower humidity, the hair dries out and shortens.