Testing absorbency of materials

We wanted to test materials to figure out the best material to keep the rain out. We learned that if the material soaked up the water that it changed. That means it may have changed colour or shape or texture or felt heavier when lifted out of the water! One way to be sure it had soaked up the water was to squeeze it, if lots of water came out it was definitely not a good material for a rain jacket. We also learned a new word, absorbent. Absorbent means it takes in the water. Teacher was very impressed at the amount of children who remembered the word absorbent through out the experiment. We loved getting our hands wet.
We learned that wool, tissue, sponge, towel, crepe paper all absorbed water. The only material that kept out the water was plastic.