Volcano Experiment.
Difficulty: Medium Time: 3 hours + drying time: 3 days Click here for an awesome resource for facts on volcanoes by 'National Geographic Kids'! |
What you will need:
For Volcano base:
For Volcano base:
- 2 packs of Air drying clay (brown)
- Large Square cake board
- Rolling Pin
- Small jam jar
- Light orange, dark orange, red, burgundy and black OR green acrylic paints
- ½ cup of water
- Red or orange food colouring
- 2 tablespoons of Bicarbonate of soda
- ¼ cup of white vinegar
METHOD
STEP 1 Take a handful of the brown clay, and using the rolling pin, roll the clay onto the cake board until it is completely covered, but leave 1/2 a centimetre thickness. STEP 2 Place the small jam jar in the middle and twist into the clay. Roll sausage-shape pieces of clay with your hands and start building up layers of clay around the jam jar. STEP 3 Carry on adding more clay until you have formed a mound around the jar, then add some thin strips of ‘lava’ from the top to the base. Make small marks with your fingertips all over the surface of the clay, then leave to dry for 3 to 4 days. STEP 4 Start painting the top of the dry clay volcano with light orange paint. Work your way down with dark orange, then red, then burgundy, and finally black around the bottom of the volcano. Add splats of orange paint all over the volcano, then leave to dry. |
![Picture](/uploads/7/7/9/9/77991858/jungle-trees.jpg?358)
NOTE: If you wanted to make it a jungle/tropical looking environment, instead of using black paint you could paint the bottom of the volcano with green paint- like trees and grass!
Then if you wanted, you could make some jungle trees to add to your volcano landscape. Don't forget to stick down the trees with glue.
![Picture](/uploads/7/7/9/9/77991858/edit-volcano-8-1024x768.jpg?434)
(Only complete this step when you want the volcano to erupt)
STEP 5
MAKING THE VOLCANO EXPLODE
To make the volcano erupt, first add the water, bicarbonate of soda and food colouring into the jar and mix. Then pour in the vinegar and watch the volcano bubble and fizz.
STEP 5
MAKING THE VOLCANO EXPLODE
To make the volcano erupt, first add the water, bicarbonate of soda and food colouring into the jar and mix. Then pour in the vinegar and watch the volcano bubble and fizz.
Here's a video tutorial by Suzie Attaway, showing you how to make this 'explosive' volcano!
Sources
Header image:
Header image:
- Sebold, K. (2013). Feugo Eruption. Retrieved October 21st, 2016 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volc%C3%A1n_de_Fuego
- Attaway, S. (2015). How to Make A Clay Volcano. Hobbycraft UK. Retrieved September 1st, 2016 from http://blog.hobbycraft.co.uk/how-to-make-a-clay-volcano/