Making volcanoes to add to your habitat will give your child an opportunity to problem solve while testing chemical reactions.
How to Make Volcano
Materials:
- small paper cup
- cookie sheet with edges
- cardboard tube
- newspaper
- masking tape
- paper mache mixture
- cardboard
- paint
Attach a cardboard tube (empty paper towel roll works great) to the cookie sheet (see figure 1).
Put small paper cup on top of the cardboard tube.
Build the newspaper and cardboard around the tube and secure it with tape until you get the shape you would like. Be sure to keep within the cookie sheet for the run off later (see figure 2 and 3).
Now you can mix up the paper mache (see figure 4).
Drape the wet newspaper strip on the cardboard until it covers all of it except the small cup on top.
Smooth out the surface or make small trenches going down the edges.
When the paper mache is dry to the touch, you can paint it.
The small cup is used so you can put another cup inside filled with baking soda. Put a drop or two of liquid soap and a few drops of food coloring (optional) in the vinegar. When it is poured into the cup, watch the lava ooze out of the volcano when it erupts. Using a small squeeze bottle or an empty soft drink bottle to dispense the vinegar into the small cup is a manageable size for a child’s hand. Add more baking soda inside the cup and you are ready for another vinegar eruption.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
You could also purchase a volcano, we used the volcano kit from The Smithsonian and you can purchase it through Amazon.com.
Set-up Volcano
Materials:
- volcanoes
- 15 oz. vinegar
- 1 T. baking soda
- extra cups (same as the one use used to make volcano)
- 3 drops of red food coloring
- 16 oz. squeeze bottle
- 1 squirt of liquid dish soap
- sound effects of an erupting volcano (optional)
- Science Book PDF
Place the volcano in the grass away from the other activities.
Have lots of extra baking soda and vinegar available.
Put baking soda in an extra cup and put in the top of the volcano.
Adding food coloring and a squirt of liquid soap to a squeeze bottle almost filled with vinegar will give the “eruption” a frothiness that looks cool.
Before your child gets started have her make a guess at what might happen, use the Science Book PDF to record her guesses and observations.
Squeeze vinegar mixture in the cup and watch the volcano erupt. Kids love it!
Think About It!
Some questions that might be asked:
- What made it do that?
- What if you added water?
- I wonder if we just had the vinegar and something else would it do the same thing. What do you think?
