What Is the Water Cycle? Science for Kids

Have you ever wondered where rain comes from—or where puddles go after a sunny day? That’s the water cycle in action! It’s Earth’s way of moving water around, and it happens every single day, even if we can’t always see it.

Let’s explore how the water cycle works.

What is the water cycle?

The water cycle is the journey water takes as it moves through the air, land, and oceans. Water is constantly changing form: it might be liquid (like rain), gas (like steam), or solid (like snow or ice).

No new water is added—it just keeps cycling. That means the water you drink today might have once fallen as rain over the Grand Canyon, or flowed through the Mississippi River a hundred years ago!

What are the 4 main steps of the water cycle?

There are four big parts to the water cycle. You can remember them with this pattern: Evaporation, Condensation, Precipitation, Collection.

1. Evaporation

When the sun heats up rivers, lakes, or oceans, the water turns into water vapor and floats into the air. That’s called evaporation.

☀️ Fun fact: Water evaporates faster on hot days—like in Arizona or Southern California!

2. Condensation

As water vapor rises, it cools down and turns into tiny water droplets. These droplets gather to form clouds. This is called condensation.

Have you ever seen fog on a chilly morning? That’s condensation happening close to the ground!

3. Precipitation

When clouds get heavy with water, they let it go. The water falls back to Earth as precipitation—which can be rain, snow, hail, or sleet.

In the U.S., places like Seattle and Florida get lots of rain, while the Rocky Mountains see more snow.

4. Collection

   
   

After falling to the ground, water gathers in rivers, lakes, oceans, and even underground. Some water flows into places like Lake Michigan or gets soaked up by soil and plants. Eventually, it evaporates again—and the cycle keeps going!

Does the water cycle ever stop?

Nope! The water cycle never stops. It’s been working for millions of years and is powered by the sun. Even when it seems like nothing’s happening, water is still moving—in clouds, in the ground, and even in the air we breathe.

Why is the water cycle important?

The water cycle gives us:

• Fresh drinking water

• Rain for crops and gardens

• Snow for rivers and lakes

• Weather patterns like thunderstorms, hurricanes, and dry spells

Without it, we wouldn’t have clean water, or even life on Earth.

Water Cycle Fun Facts

1. The clouds over your town may have traveled hundreds of miles!

Winds move clouds across the U.S. all the time—so a storm over Ohio might have started as water vapor from the Gulf of Mexico.

2. Water in the air has a name: humidity!

On hot, sticky summer days in places like Georgia or Louisiana, you’re feeling water vapor in the air—part of the cycle in action.

3. Snow is part of the water cycle too!

When snow piles up in the Rocky Mountains, it slowly melts in spring, helping to refill rivers and supply water to cities like Denver and Salt Lake City.

4. Plants “breathe out” water!

It’s called transpiration, and it’s when water moves from plant leaves into the air. Trees in the Pacific Northwest help create clouds through this process!

5. Water can stay underground for thousands of years.

Some rainwater seeps into the ground and becomes part of the aquifer (underground water storage). The Ogallala Aquifer under the Midwest holds ancient water used by farmers today.

6. The water cycle helps make weather!

Big storms like hurricanes need warm ocean water to evaporate. That’s why storms are stronger in late summer—there’s more fuel in the cycle!