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Make a Volcano

Making volcanoes is pretty easy and lots of fun. But,
be warned: It will leave your kitchen (and your hands)
smelling like vinegar!

	Make a simple volcano
	Make a more complex volcano
	See real lava rocks with bubble holes

Simple Volcano

Here's one of the simplest ways to make a volcano.
You need:

	Large plastic box
	Plastic funnel
	Baking soda
	White vinegar


1. Pour a pile of baking soda on the bottom of the box.		2. Put the large end of the funnel over the baking soda and push down hard. Then pour vinegar into the small end of the funnel.		3. Watch the foam push out of the funnel!

What happened? When baking soda and vinegar were mixed
together, they made bubbles of a gas called carbon dioxide.
The foamy mixture of bubbles and vinegar looked like lava as it
expanded and pushed its way out of the funnel.

More Complex Volcano

This volcano takes more work. You need:

	Large plastic box
	Modeling clay, shaped to make a volcano with a cup-shaped hole at the top
	Plastic animals (to get buried by the lava, and maybe become fossils)
	Baking soda
	Dish detergent
	Red food coloring
	White vinegar
	Small bowl, mixing spoon, and measuring cup


1. Mix together the baking soda, detergent, and food coloring until it's a thick but runny goo.	2. Spoon the goo into opening at the top of the volcano.	3. Pour small amounts of vinegar into the opening and watch what happens!


4. Keep adding more vinegar and red goo to the volcano.		5. Maybe the foamy pink "lava" will cover everything!		6. Let the box sit in a warm place for a few weeks, and the "lava" may evaporate and make crystals!

What happened? The detergent helped keep the foam
together longer. The red food color made the foam look a
bit more like real lava. We don't know what kinds of crystals
formed when the "lava" mixture evaporated.

Real Lava with Bubble Holes

Some times real lava is full of gas bubbles.
When it cools, it makes rocks like these:


When dark-colored basalt lava is full of bubbles, it sometimes explodes out of the volcano to make a rock called scoria.		Light-colored pumice lava has so many bubble holes that it often floats in water.

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This page was created on March 12, 2001, and it was last updated on February 2, 2003.