How to make an Erupting Volcano!
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So…..let’s talk about kid’s school homework. I actually am all in favour for it. This might be because I’m a teacher myself but it’s also because my kiddos don’t tell me much about what they do at school. If I ask them what they’ve done at school, they often reply ‘I can’t remember?!’ Six hours there all day and you can’t remember?! But, when I sit down with them at the weekend when they do their homework – suddenly they tell me all sorts of things they have been up to! The only time homework is a problem is if you have a super busy weekend but other than that – I’m a fan and as long as they are fairly short and give kids the opportunity to do lots of playing and other creative stuff! Mostly, the kids homeworks are of the usual grammar and maths worksheet style – but occasionally we have a creative one thrown in. These are my favourite (as long as they don’t crop up too often!) It seems to be a standard curriculum homework to make an Erupting Volcano in primary schools in the U.K! So, just in case anyone else has ‘An Erupting Volcano Homework‘ to complete – here’s a little video of how we got on! And if your kids liked this volcano experiment – try our Mud Explosion Nature Activity – it’s a favourite in our house.
How to make an Erupting Volcano
1. Start by choosing a plastic drinks bottle, small is probably better, but if you have a big one it works best if you fill it mostly with tinfoil before you add the chemical mixture later.
2. Once you’ve chosen your bottle, stick it to a big piece of cardboard with masking tape. It’s important to use masking tape because it’s easy to paint over.
3. Next, make your papier-mâché mixture – we used two parts flour to one part water. Give it a really good stir and try to get rid of any lumps. Papier-mâché your bottle covering the newspaper with your gooey flour mixture.
4. Make rocks with the papier-mâché to form a base around the bottom of the bottle. Leave to dry thoroughly for about 24 hours.
5. Next, paint your volcano with acrylic paints. Acrylic paints work better because you can use your volcano any time, poster paints will drip when you add your chemical mixture. Add some lava splatters with paint and leave to dry again.
Once dry, take your volcano outside and make your chemical mixture by adding your Bicarbonate of soda to your bottle. We used about half a pot of bicarbonate of soda. Then add warm water mixed with red food colouring. As soon as you’ve added a small cup of the food colouring, add your vinegar and wait for your volcano to erupt! You’ll love the Erupting Volcano Playdough Craft here!
Try more baking soda fun with our Pumpkin Potion Science Experiment! If you’d like to try some other kid’s crafts – here’s a selection of some of the other crafts we have on the blog….
Make a Polystyrene Caterpillar
Fun Nature Winter Crafts and Activities
Make a Flowerpot Garden Wind chime
Puffy Paint Planets – a craft to learn about Space
Fabric Batik Art
Painted Pasta Mosaic
