Children love doing science experiments, specifically when it comes to making things erupt, so this experiment is a perfect opportunity to teach children about volcano eruptions and letting them get creative and messy! Not only is this experiment fun, but it also keeps children busy for hours. The volcano erupting experiment covers two main areas of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math). Learning about volcanoes and mixing ingredients together to make the eruption is classified under the science section, but building the volcano in a way that it is sturdy and strong can be considered part of engineering. Overall, this activity is great for children to learn in different ways.
What you need:
- A tin to catch the "eruption"
- Play dough (see Family Education on how to make dough from scratch)
- Food colouring
- Dish soap
- Vinegar
- Baking soda
- A plastic water bottle
How to do it:
1. Building
Grab your plastic water bottle and set it in the tray. Then, have your child use the various colours of dough to start building the volcano. Allow your child to experiment with this. If they don't build the volcano in a way that it stands up on its own, let them figure out how to alter their structure to make it more sturdy. If the child starts to get frustrated, then it may be time for you can step in and offer more of a helping hand to ensure their structure holds up, but it is important to let them try on their own first.
To make the eruption more interesting, we have found children enjoy adding LEGO characters or any other tiny toy humans to their volcano to add a dramatic effect!
2. Mixing
In the water bottle, you will want to add in your desired amount of baking soda. Usually a few spoonfuls will do the trick. In a separate container, mix together vinegar (usually 1/2 a cup suffices), a little bit of dish soap, and whatever colour the child wants their "lava" to be.
If your child is old enough, allow them to make the measurements such as the vinegar and baking soda, that way they can also cover math skills as part of STEM as well!
3. Erupting
Finally, it is time for the eruption! All you have to do is let the child poor the content from the cup holding the vinegar into the water bottle and watch the volcano explode with an oozing, exciting, gooey lava!
Overall, this is a great experience for kids to learn about volcanoes, but make sure to explain to them how volcanoes work. For example, tell the kids that volcano eruptions are how Earth releases pressure from deep down. The pressure causes the magma to rise, and when it rises, gas bubbles form. These bubbles increase the pressure which forces the magma into the air, creating an eruption! It is important to explain to the kids the science behind the experiment that they are doing so that they learn something valuable.
Enjoy your eruptions! Let us know how yours turned out.
