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Tornado Tube

Create a tornado in a bottle.

  • Tornado Tube by Craig Burnham
    Item #: WTUB-500

    $2.99 In Stock

  • One Tornado Tube with Bottles
    Item #: WTUB-525

    $4.99 In Stock

  • Package of 15 Tubes
    Item #: WTUB-015

    $19.99 In Stock

  • Package of 30 Tubes
    Item #: WTUB-030

    $34.99 In Stock

  • Package of 100 Tubes
    Item #: WTUB-100

    $94.99 In Stock

Usually ships out the next day.

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.

Warning - Choking Hazard

Too much fun!

Panda Science Teacher    -  May 23, 2013

1 2 3 4 5
This user gave 5/5 stars


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!

Tornado Tubes

Amy    -  February 2, 2013

1 2 3 4 5
This user gave 5/5 stars


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.

Tornado Tubes

Maria Bushen    -  November 19, 2012

1 2 3 4 5
This user gave 5/5 stars


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...

Whirling Success

Cynthia Baumann    -  June 11, 2012

1 2 3 4 5
This user gave 4/5 stars


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.

Unfortunately, they have to be screwed on tightly or they can leak. Now I cannot unscrew one of the tubes off the bottle. It seems impossible, and I can't figure out how it got so tight; the water was room temperature. I've even soaked it in both, hot and cold water to loosen it. May have to try a vice. So weird.

Best thing I've bought from Steve Spangler

kathy wilmovsky    -  June 7, 2012

1 2 3 4 5
This user gave 5/5 stars


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.

100Tubes

Julie    -  October 27, 2011

1 2 3 4 5
This user gave 4/5 stars


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!

Tornado tubes

Ann Turner    -  October 14, 2011

1 2 3 4 5
This user gave 4/5 stars


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.

Tornado Tube

Lori H    -  September 20, 2011

1 2 3 4 5
This user gave 5/5 stars


Quick and fast transaction. Will buy from Spangler again!

not as easy as I thought-

Astrid    -  September 5, 2011

1 2 3 4 5
This user gave 4/5 stars


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.
The kids still enjoy it but was not the "hit" i tought it would be.

leak

drew canada    -  June 22, 2011

1 2 3 4 5
This user gave 5/5 stars


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

GREAT product!!

John R. Mizell    -  June 15, 2011

1 2 3 4 5
This user gave 4/5 stars


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!

We colored the water with plain food coloring, but the only oil I could find were bottles of clear, non-colored oil. I was told you could use liquid candle dye to color it, but nobody around me had any. All they sold was the wax block-style dye. I then had an AHA moment! I went and purchased a $5.00 set of oil based paint from A.C. Moore and voila! I could color the oil to whatever color I wanted! Granted, it wasn't completely perfect... there was some sediment on the bottom, and you had to shake it up to mix it before adding it to the water, but the finished products turned out great!

Fabulous fun!

COinCO    -  May 28, 2011

1 2 3 4 5
This user gave 4/5 stars


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.

Fun!

Christy Porterfield    -  November 4, 2010

1 2 3 4 5
This user gave 5/5 stars


This was fun. Worth the cost for the demonstration. We used soap, oil, food coloring, etc as recommended. Neat to see the different variations.

economical option

Diane Hurst    -  June 19, 2010

1 2 3 4 5
This user gave 5/5 stars


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.

This is the best price I found, without getting a HUGE amount.

Eye of the storm

Karla Kane    -  June 19, 2010

1 2 3 4 5
This user gave 5/5 stars


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.

Tornado Tubes

Tkm    -  May 27, 2010

1 2 3 4 5
This user gave 5/5 stars


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.

In addition - since this is simply a review I don't particularly care to have to put the code in every time I do one of these.

Happy Science Mom

Jenny Ellsworth    -  February 26, 2010

1 2 3 4 5
This user gave 5/5 stars


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.

I was so excited I bought stuff from you way back in October. I brought in some energy beads and tornado tubes, and we went outside and tested everything, and I sent them home with some a bracelet and tube each. The kids were so thrilled, and frankly so were the teacher and volunteer moms who were there. And I kept it to maybe 20 minutes, anyway.

Your products are fun and inspiring and well-made. Yes, I could have done a science sharing day without you, but it would have been much less cool.

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