It's Raining, It's Pouring... Again!

It’s raining, it’s pouring, that smell is petrichor-y. These weeks of frequent downpours have us learning more and more about rain, including the name of its smells and how rain actually works.

LITTLE: Play Storm Dodger, a game that helps your child understand that storms follow paths, and that a storm’s speed and direction can be tracked to help people make plans.

MIDDLE: Rain shadows are a result of the physical properties of the rain cycle creating weather patterns with big geographic results.

BIGGER: Some scientists actually study the smell of rain! Do you think that makes rain their favorite weather?

THINKALONG: Something to Consider – Water covers over two-thirds of the Earth, but only about 1% is drinkable. The UN states that "the human right to water is indispensable for leading a life in human dignity. It is a prerequisite for the realization of other human rights." High-profile water crises in the United States - like lead contamination in Flint, MI, and Washington, D.C., droughts in California, and protests to protect water at the Standing Rock Reservation - have brought forward important conversations about clean, safe water access across the country. As the world focuses on climate change and water scarcity as global issues, many are asking an important question: Is access to water a human right?