Create a tornado in a bottle! This exciting experiment is a hands-on demonstration of "VORTEX ACTION." Use this experiment to study kinetic and potential energy, as well as the atmospheric conditions needed to create a tornado vortex. This colorful plastic tube is a great introduction to any weather unit. Recommended for children ages 4 and up.
What's included?
- Tornado Tube Connector in your choice of quantity, available in assorted colors
or
- One Tornado Tube Connector with two 1-liter Bottles
How does it work?
Fill one of the 1-liter bottles with water. Connect the empty bottle to the first with the Tornado Tube, so it looks like an hourglass. Tip this "hourglass" upside down, swirl the bottles, and in seconds a beautiful "tornado" appears.What does it teach?
Use this experiment to introduce students to kinetic energy and potential energy. Help students discover how air pressure and density work together to create an incredible force of nature. Learn about the science of vortex energy, the swirling, twisting and spiraling action that can be found everywhere in nature.
Product FAQ
- What colors do they come in and can I choose a color?
The tubes come in a variety of colors from green, blue, clear, yellow, and red. As with our other products that differ in colors, if you call and talk to one of our wonderful customer service representatives and ask nicely, they might be able to get a certain color for you. There are no guarantees though.
- What size bottles can I use?
Any size bottles will work with the tornado tube but we recommend using 1 liter bottles. We have found that the 1 liters contain just enough liquid to demonstrate the energy of the vortex. It is also the easiest for your kids to hold on to.

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Tornado in a Bottle - Vortex Racer
August 2nd, 2010 -
Mentos Soda Pop Drop
July 7th, 2008
Click the thumbnail below to see the video.
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Too much fun!
Panda Science Teacher - May 23, 2013
When my second graders were experimenting with the tubes, the first thing after assembly I always have my students do is to turn the bottles over in the opposite direction and let the water just sit on top. Well this year I repeated this and after a few minutes of posing “why” questions to them one of my little ones announces “We need to get on line with Steve Spangler and tell him he sent us a whole pack of defective tubes… these things are supposed to make tornados and they won’t even let the water down!” Hysterical! Needless to say it was the most fun guiding my students in solving this mystery I have had in years! |
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Tornado Tubes
Amy - February 2, 2013
What a wonderful product. The after-school science class has kids ranging in age from Kindergarten thru 6th and all of them had a blast using the tubes and learning about tornados. |
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Tornado Tubes
Maria Bushen - November 19, 2012
I bought a cheaper version of these for my class. When I tried them at home, they didn't work! Needless to say, I should have looked at reviews first :o but once I saw them I realized the Tornado Tube had much better reviews. I had to rush ship them but the kids were glad(and it is all about the kids!). Expensive lesson learned... |
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Whirling Success
Cynthia Baumann - June 11, 2012
These tubes worked well. I used 2 liter bottles and probably too large for little preschool children. Nonetheless, I helped them get it started, and they enjoyed watching the tornadoes. |
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Best thing I've bought from Steve Spangler
kathy wilmovsky - June 7, 2012
This product is easy to use, easy to demonstrate, and easy to understand. The tornado tube is an inexpensive way to do a demonstration on how a vortex works. My own kids "played" with it for a long time and my class loved creating a vortex over and over again. |
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100Tubes
Julie - October 27, 2011
Much Better to purchase in bulk, I have enthusiastic students who love to use these in creative ways. Good party favours instead of "lolly bags" for my children's birthday parties! |
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Tornado tubes
Ann Turner - October 14, 2011
The tubes were a hit with my science students. They really enjoyed making their own tornadoes. There was a small problem with some of the tubes in that they didn't form a tight seal and we experienced some water leakage. |
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Tornado Tube
Lori H - September 20, 2011
Quick and fast transaction. Will buy from Spangler again! |
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not as easy as I thought-
Astrid - September 5, 2011
I thought this will be easy and one of the cleanest experiments of the party. Yet, it was messy. The bottles leaked, the more you stirred it the more liquid it will come out of it. :(I had done this experiment 10 yrs ago for my son't b-day party and I don't remember having these issues. |
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leak
drew canada - June 22, 2011
i bought it. it's very good but when it first got delivered and it leaked really bad and if i turned it any harder it would have broke the water bill went up a little but its still a good science experiment |
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GREAT product!!
John R. Mizell - June 15, 2011
Did Tornado-In-A-Bottles for Vacation Bible School projects last week and the kids LOVED them! There were some with just clear ones (water), some with plain water and colored oil, and some with colored water and colored oil. I figured if you used red lamp oil and yellow water you'd get an orange "tornado"... and I was right! |
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Fabulous fun!
COinCO - May 28, 2011
We set this up the afternoon it arrived and have been playing with it since. We added glitter to the water (not too much as it will clog it up) and the whole thing in mesmerizing. |
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Fun!
Christy Porterfield - November 4, 2010
This was fun. Worth the cost for the demonstration. We used soap, oil, food coloring, etc as recommended. Neat to see the different variations. |
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economical option
Diane Hurst - June 19, 2010
This is the way to go if you have a large group. We had about 15 kids doing these, and it was a lot of fun for the kids to see what others around them were doing as well as to use their own tornado tubes. |
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Eye of the storm
Karla Kane - June 19, 2010
We used your tornado tubes to show the eye of the storm, the calm place to be in a storm. We were teaching children and a Christian Bible Camp that with all the turmoil around about us, the safest place to be is in the center of God's hand. The kids had a blast doing the experiment and were glad to take a tornado tube home with them. |
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Tornado Tubes
Tkm - May 27, 2010
Not very pleased with these. They do not connect tightly to 64 oz bottles and leak. I've had to put washers in all of them to prevent those leaks. |
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Happy Science Mom
Jenny Ellsworth - February 26, 2010
My daughter is in kindergarden, and her school doesn't have a lot of science. They do have parent sharing, however, and she got to bring me in today. As a science mommy (my husband and I both majored in Physics), naturally I had to do some science. In 15 minutes. |
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