Fountain---or Leaky Pipes

Twenty odd years ago, my first attempt at real plumping was to replace old lead pipes in a house with new copper pipes.  When I turned on the water to check the plumbing, I had leaky pipes with water spraying all over the basement.  My first thought was: "Wow, I bet kids would love to play with leaky pipes."  Before I could do anything with that thought, though, I had to fix the leaky pipes.

When I finished fixing the new pipes, I built a fountain---or leaky pipe contraption.

So how does this apparatus work?

Children pour water into the funnels.

Then the water squirts out of the holes in the pipes. It's a fountain that the children have to make work.

The first fountain I built was made from pieces of copper left over from my plumbing project.  That apparatus lasted 18 years.  I would still be using it today, but I wanted to see if I could make a new one out of PVC pipe.  To that end, I cut 1/2 inch PVC pipe with a hack saw.

The pieces of pipe are connected by PVC elbows and T connectors.  To connect all the parts, I used PVC primer and PVC cement.

There are two important notes about this apparatus.  First, there are several sections and a cross piece, all to make the structure more sturdy.  Second, pipes leading down form the base and are plugged so water does not flow down into those pipes.  The idea is to have water flow only in the top level of pipes so there is enough pressure for the water to squirt out.

To plug the pipes at the connectors, I used plumbers putty.  (Sorry for the crude drawing.)

To produce the leak in the pipes, I drilled 1/8 inch holes in the top pipes.

I drilled eight holes in all.  If you drill too many holes, not enough pressure builds up to get a good leak.  If you drill too many, or in the wrong place or orientation, you can always cover the extra hole or two with duct tape.

The funnels, which vary in size, are set over the four ends of the pipes where water enters the fountain.

They are duct taped to the apparatus.  I also put in water-proof silicone in the funnel to make a tighter seal and fill in space so water does not leak out the bottom of the funnel.

To secure the fountain to the table, I used duct tape.  Note this is done before adding water so the duct tape will stick.

What do the children do with this apparatus?

They do a lot of pouring into the funnels.

They catch the water squirting out of the pipes.

And those who like a challenge, do both at the same time.

Imagine what the boy who is pictured above is experiencing.  He is pouring water into the funnel with one hand and catching the water with the other hand.  Sounds simple, right?  Not so fast.  First he has to have the coordination---muscle and eye-to-hand---to pour the water from the container into the funnel.  He also has to have the same coordination for catching the water at a different level.  Those are two different operations, but he is doing it at the same time which takes another kind of mind and body coordination.  In addition, he has made an astute observation: pouring the water in the funnel causes the water to squirt out the hole in the pipe. As he experiments, he sees that the height of the water squirting out of the hole diminishes as the water level in the funnel goes down.  If he wants to keep the water squirting, he has to pour more water in the funnel.  Not so simple, hey?

Besides pouring and catching, children can't resist that inner drive to stop the water from squirting out of the holes---or at least some of them.

Of course, who says you have to do anything with the water.  It can also be a novel building exercise.

This child is not interested in pouring, catching or stopping water.  He has the audacity to balance as many things as he can from the table using the large black funnel as a base.  The funnel is not a very stable base, but that does not deter him. He does not know that I did not set this up as a balancing or building activity.  I am sure glad this child did not understand my intentions.  His play is unique, idiosyncratic and totally wonderful. More power to him!