You’ve read about Rainman and some other types of commercial rain gauges. Now it’s your turn to design and build a gauge! If you follow the procedures below and present your work in a clear manner, we will publish it on the SEED web site.

Guidelines

• Just about any container can serve as a rain gauge, as long as it is watertight and put in a suitable place.
• The choice of materials is up to you. If you live in a cold climate, keep in mind that water turning to ice can crack a glass container, so it might be better to use plastic or some other material that isn’t as likely to break.
• Position your rain gauge so that there is nothing overhead that will stop the water, channel it into the container, or otherwise interfere with the collection of rainwater.
• Be sure to secure your rain gauge so that it doesn’t blow over in the wind.
• Readings must be made and the gauge emptied regularly, usually daily, preferably at the same time each day.

Some things to think about as you plan and carry out your design …

• Some water is likely to be lost through evaporation, particularly if you live in a hot and dry climate. What can you do to avoid such loss?
• How will you actually measure the rainfall? How can you be sure that your measurements will be as accurate as possible? What can you do to verify the accuracy of your rain gauge?
• In order to measure water falling as hail and snow, you will need to melt the ice carefully before taking measurements. A very heavy fall of snow might overflow the container, preventing an accurate measurement. If you live in a climate where snow or hail are possibilities, how will you deal with them?
• Some commercial gauges have problems with interference from dead leaves, spider webs, etc. What can you do to keep these problems from happening to your rain gauge?
• In what ways is your rain gauge similar to other rain gauges you know about? In what ways is it different?
• Refining is an important part of the design process. If something doesn’t work as well as you wanted it to or thought that it should, what can you do to improve it?

Testing and Reporting

• Gather data using your rain gauge over several different rainy days.
• Provide a description and diagram of your rain gauge that is clear and detailed enough for someone else to be able to replicate your design.
• Optional: Schlumberger’s rain gauge is called The Rainman. Give your rain gauge a name!

Send Us Your Project Report

You may email your work in the form of word processor files, Web pages, or even on paper. Please include drawings and/or photographs.

or you may mail it to

SEED Engineering Challenge
Schlumberger Limited
7 Times Square, Suite 4301
New York, NY 10036
USA