Making a volcano is a great science experiment to try for yourself! You can make small volcanos or big volcanos or volcanos some size in between. If you’ve ever wondered how to make your very own volcano, then this is the post for you.
what you’ll need
The good news is that everything you need to make your own volcano can be bought from pretty much any shop (well not any shop- you wouldn’t have much luck finding them in a camera shop).
- Bicarbonate of soda
- Vinegar
- Washing up liquid
- Food colouring (choose your favourite colour)
- Water (available from a tap)
- A bottle (I find a bottle between 300ml and 500ml works best)
- A funnel (It’ll make your life easier)
With all your ingredients collected it’s time to make your very own volcano.
How to make your very own volcano
When making your volcano I’d recommend either doing it inside or in the kitchen- at the very least you should put the bottle on a plate or bowl. Trust me I can tell you from personal experience you don’t want to be trying to clean up the mess out of your carpet.
- Use the funnel to put 2 tablespoons of bicarbonate of soda into the bottle.
- Put 2 tablespoons of washing-up liquid into the bottle.
- Put 1 teaspoon of food colouring into the bottle.
- Complete the bottled mixture by adding 2 tablespoons of water into the bottle.
- Give the mixture a little swirl (shake it carefully) to mix it all together.
- Time for the eruption. Use the funnel to add 1/2 cup (120 millilitres) of vinegar into the bottle and stand back!
Why not try
Science is all about investigating which means you really should make more volcanos than you can shake a stick at. (shake lava at?). You can try some other things with your volcanos.
You could try…
- Change the measurements of the ingredients. Can you get your volcano to erupt quicker? Or make it more powerful? How about more foamy? (Think that’s a word).
- Make your bottle look more like a volcano- use some paper in a cone shape perhaps. Then you could have some fun colouring in! You could even build the volcano casing out of LEGO!
- Experiment with the size of the bottle. Could you make a volcano out of a big 2-litre bottle? What does a volcano look like when it comes out of a milk bottle?
have fun
The most important thing when building your volcanos is that you have fun! Oh- and that you don’t make a mess- grownups get angry when we make a mess.
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Did you have a go at making your own volcano? Let me know how it went in the comments below!