How to Make a Model Volcano

Guide Note: Want a fun, messy and educational project for your kids? Why not try making your own volcano? Nothing makes science more fun than a modestly-sized, safe explosion followed by oozing.

How to Make a Model Volcano will walk you through constructing your own volcano—eruption and all!

Table of Contents:

Introduction

(Creative Commons photo by Scott Robinson)
(Creative Commons photo by Scott Robinson)
  • Whether you're studying volcanoes in school, trying to think of a fun and fascinating science fair project, or simply looking for something entertaining (and educational!) to do on a lazy weekend, you should try your hand at making an erupting model of a volcano!
  • This project can be as basic or as elaborate as you want it to be, making it an ideal undertaking for all ages, and all of the ingredients and materials are probably already in your home. It also provides a vivid illustration of a simple chemical reaction, which allows kids to see that science can be both fun and accessible. With our easy-to-follow instructions, you'll be dodging lava in no time!

Step 1: Make the Volcano Surface

  • First, you'll need to make a batch of play dough, which you'll use to form a realistic volcanic surface on your model.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Mix the flour, salt, cooking oil and water by hand (no electric mixers!) in a large bowl until the mixture is smooth and firm to the touch.
  2. Add a few drops of the food coloring of your choice in order to give the dough its desired color. Remember, this dough is going to form the outer surface of your volcano, so feel free to make it look as realistic or as wild as you want!

Step 2: Assemble the Volcano

Don't stick your finger in the volcano. (Creative Commons photo by Jessica)
Don't stick your finger in the volcano. (Creative Commons photo by Jessica)
  • Once you're finished with the dough, set it aside and get to work on assembling the model itself.

Materials

  • 1 cardboard box or sheet of plywood
  • 1 liter soda bottle, clean and empty
  • Old newspapers
  • Tape or glue
  • Homemade play dough (see recipe above)
  • Rolling pin
  • Water
  • 1 tablespoon baking soda
  • 1 tablespoon dish soap
  • Food coloring
  • 1/4 cup white vinegar

Instructions

  1. Take your cardboard box or sheet of plywood, and set it on a large, flat work surface.
  2. Place your soda bottle in the middle of the box or sheet of plywood; it will probably help to make sure the bottle is attached to the box or plywood, either by taping it down or gluing it firmly. Don't worry about looks at this point - the bottle will soon be completely covered!
  3. Roll up the old newspaper or other scraps of paper into tight balls.
  4. Place the balls around and up the soda bottle, sticking them together with tape or glue as you work, in order to form a conical volcano shape and conceal the bottle.
  5. Lay the play dough on a flat surface and roll it with your rolling pin until you've formed a thin sheet large enough to drape over your volcano.
  6. After placing the sheet of play dough over the model, make sure you remove the dough just over the opening of your soda bottle, so you have a hole in the top of the model.
  7. Enhance your model by adding detail! This is your chance to get creative. You could spray paint sections of your volcano brown or green, make trees or people out of any remaining dough, paint red streams starting at the opening of the volcano and traveling down the mountain to symbolize lava flow, make ridges and channels in the dough to create texture - anything you want!
  8. Allow the model time to dry. (This could take up to 24 hours if you've added paint, so plan ahead if you're making this for a school project.)
  9. After the model is dry and you're ready for the grand finale, measure 1 tablespoon of dish soap, 1 tablespoon of baking soda, a few drops of food coloring (try red, red and yellow or red and blue) and a small amount of water into the opening of your soda bottle.
  10. Finally, the moment you've been waiting for: The eruption! When you're ready for your volcano to erupt, add 1/4 cup of white vinegar into the soda bottle, and stand back! You've just witnessed the chemical reaction that occurs between a base (the baking soda) and an acid (the vinegar); the eruption results from the release of the carbon dioxide gas that is created, just as it does in real volcanoes.

TIP: Make sure you wait until you're at school (or outside, if you're making the volcano at home) before you attempt Step 10. Eruptions can be very messy! You'll probably want to make sure you're wearing old clothes as well, in case the lava flow gets out of hand.

Variations

  1. Instead of making the play dough, you could also use plaster or papier-mâché to cover the newspaper and create the outer layer of your model.
  2. For a less embellished but much faster version, you could wrap tin foil around the balls of newspaper and the soda bottle in lieu of the play dough. Make sure you tape the foil down to the cardboard box or sheet of plywood in order to secure it, and don't forget to cut a hole near the opening of the bottle for the eruption!
  3. Volcano World offers a large selection of alternate volcano models of varying degrees of difficulty, including an explosive model, a basic pebble model, an electronic model that involves physics as well as chemistry, and several print-out paper models that you can assemble at home.

Resources for How to Make a Volcano

Volcano Models

General Volcano Information

Just For Fun

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