volcano experiment in the classroom

Science Fun

How to make a Volcano

• 10 ml of dish soap
• 100 ml of warm water
• 400 ml of white vinegar
• Food coloring
• Baking soda slurry (fill a cup about ½ with baking soda, then fill the rest of the way with water)
• Empty 2 liter soda bottle

Instructions:

NOTE: This should be done outside due to the mess.

• Combine the vinegar, water, dish soap and 2 drops of food coloring into the empty soda bottle.
• Use a spoon to mix the baking soda slurry until it is all a liquid.
• Eruption time! … Pour the baking soda slurry into the soda bottle quickly and step back!

WATCH THE QUICK AND EASY VIDEO TUTORIAL!

How it Works:

A chemical reaction between vinegar and baking soda creates a gas called carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is the same type of gas used to make the carbonation in sodas. What happens if you shake up a soda? The gas gets very excited and tries to spread out. There is not enough room in the bottle for the gas to spread out so it leaves through the opening very quickly, causing an eruption!

Extra Experiments:

1. Does the amount of vinegar change the eruption? 2. Does the amount of water change the eruption? 3. Does the amount of baking soda change the eruption?

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How To Make a Volcano for Kids

Want To See A Volcano Erupt Up Close? Make Volcanoes Erupt In Your Backyard With The Volcano Science Experiment . The best way to help your child learn puzzling acids and base concepts is by conducting a simple volcano experiment for kids at home. A baking soda vinegar volcano is the best way to teach children about the chemical reaction between acids and bases. Help your child learn how to make a volcano for kids.

• Things You Need For The Volcano Science Project

A Step-By-Step Guide On How to Make A Volcano For Kids

The science behind the volcano eruption experiment, 5 creative ways to make a volcano at home.

A volcano science experiment is a great way to help children understand the lesson on acids and bases. Help your child understand the chemical reaction between acids and bases using this simple science experiment for kids at home. 

Things You Need For The Volcano Science Project 

Making a volcano at home is an easy and fun project to do with your kids. Here is a list of things you need to perform the volcano science project. Most of the materials on the list are inexpensive and easily available. In fact, you might even find them in your pantry.

Things You’ll Need For Volcano Experiment For Kids:

• 100 ml of warm water
• 10 ml of dish soap
• 400 ml of white vinegar
• Empty 2-litre soda bottle
• 2 drops of red food coloring
• Baking soda slurry ( ½ cup baking soda and ½ cup water)

Wondering how to make a homemade volcano? It’s pretty simple. Here is a step-by-step guide to performing the volcano science experiment with your kids.

• Step 1: Mix the dish soap, water, white vinegar, and food coloring and pour it into the empty soda bottle.
• Step 2: Make a baking soda slurry with ½ cup baking soda and ½ cup water. Mix it thoroughly with a spoon, until it’s completely dissolved.
• Step 3: Now, it’s eruption time! Quickly but carefully pour this slurry into the bottle and step back.  Now, watch the volcano erupt and spill out red lava!

Download How To Make Volcano Printable

The volcano science experiment will leave your kids in awe as the homemade volcano erupts and spills out red lava. Help them understand the science behind the experiment by asking them questions and giving them hints. Here is a list of questions to help you start.

• What did you learn from the volcano eruption experiment? 
• Why do you think the liquid in the soda bottle erupted when you added the baking soda slurry to it?
• How does the volcano science project work?

The homemade volcano erupts because of a chemical reaction between an acid and a base. The acetic acid present in the vinegar reacts with the sodium hydrogen carbonate in the baking soda and produces carbon dioxide. The base (sodium hydrogen carbonate) undergoes a decomposing reaction when it is exposed to the acid. This produces a gas called carbon dioxide, which causes the homemade volcano to “erupt!” The dish soap becomes foamy and the bubbles and spill out like lava.

Do you know there are several ways to make a volcano at home? Now that you know the science behind volcano eruptions, here are 5 more ways to make a volcano at home!

Tape Volcano

Things you need:

• Tall plastic container
• Baking soda
• Acrylic paints
• Plastic plate

Instructions:  

• Step 1: For this baking soda vinegar volcano, tape the top of your tall plastic container to the side of your plastic plate. The plate serves as the base for your volcano. Continue to add tape around your container in this fashion. 
• Step 2: Paint your ‘volcano’ with acrylic paint. (We recommend using brown paint) 
• Step 3: Once you’re done making your volcano, add a few drops of baking soda and vinegar inside the volcano and watch it erupt! You can add some red food coloring to make the volcano look more realistic with red lava spilling out.

Ice Volcano

• Plastic wrap
• Small bowls
• Step 1: To build an ice volcano, place a ball (that doesn’t float) at the bottom of each bowl. Line each of these bowls with plastic wrap. 
• Step 2: Next, add a mixture of baking soda, water, and food coloring to these bowls so that they completely cover the ball underneath. 
• Step 3: Place these bowls in the freezer for some time. 
• Step 4: Once they’re frozen, pry out your ‘volcano’ from the bowls and add a few drops of vinegar into it. Your ice volcano will erupt as soon as the vinegar touches it!

Sand Volcano

• 1 tbsp baking soda
• 2 cups vinegar
• Empty plastic bottle
• Red/orange food coloring

Instructions: Want to build a sand volcano in your backyard? Here’s how you can do it. 

• Step 1: First, place an empty plastic bottle in a mound of sand. 
• Step 2: Use a funnel to add some baking soda to the bottle. 
• Step 3: Mix some food coloring and vinegar together and pour this mixture inside the bottle and watch your volcano erupt!

Mini Volcanoes

• Red, blue, green, yellow, orange and pink food coloring

Instructions: Here’s how to make a volcano for kids using an egg carton. 

• Step 1: Cut out the bottom of each egg holder in your egg carton and flip it over. You’ll notice that each slot now looks like a mini volcano. 
• Step 2: Pour some baking soda into each slot. 
• Step 3: Then, add some colored vinegar solution (vinegar + food coloring) into the slot. You can create several different colored eruptions in this way. The colorful eruptions will leave your child in awe.

Newspaper Volcano

• Large plastic bottle
• Cellulose adhesive

Instructions: Make a volcano at home using newspaper! 

• Step 1: First, place a bottle in the middle of your cardboard base. Apply the adhesive paste all over the cardboard and glue the crumpled newspaper over it. 
• Step 2: Then, glue the newspaper around your bottle too, and paint the entire structure to ensure it looks like a volcano. Set it aside and allow it to dry for a couple of hours or days. 
• Step 3: When it’s ready, ask your child to pour the baking soda, vinegar, and food coloring into the bottle to make the volcano erupt.

We hope you enjoy making these volcano science projects with your little one. These experiments hone their understanding of science and instill in them a sense of creativity and imagination. 

For more fun kids learning games and activities, check the rest of our website!

Frequently Asked Questions on How To Make a Volcano for Kids

What are the materials used for making a volcano for kids.

The materials used for making a volcano for kids are luke warm water, white vinegar, soda bottle, dish soap, red coloring solution, and baking soda slurry.

How To Make a Volcano for Kids?

To make volcano for kids, firstly take a soda bottle and mix water, dish soap, food coloring and white vinegar. Then, make baking soda slurry and add slowly to this solution. Let the children watch the volcano erupt and understand the concept of eruption properly.

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How To Make a Baking Soda Volcano With Free Observation Sheet

This experiment will have kids erupting with applause!

The classic baking soda volcano experiment has been entertaining kids (and adults) of all ages for decades. But it’s more than just a lot of fun. This experiment also teaches kids about simple chemical reactions and physical properties. The best part? It’s easy to do and uses only a few basic ingredients. Read on to see how to conduct the baking soda volcano experiment, and fill out the form on this page to grab your free recording sheet!

How does the baking soda volcano experiment work?

This experiment involves pouring vinegar mixed with dish soap into a small amount of baking soda. The baking soda acts as a base while the vinegar is an acid. When the base and the acid come together, they create an endothermic reaction that produces carbon dioxide. The dish soap helps to create the foaming effect as the “lava” pours out of the volcano.

What does the baking soda volcano teach?

The baking soda volcano experiment is a great way to demonstrate a chemical reaction between an acid and a carbonate. When the carbonate (found in the baking soda) is exposed to the acids (found in the vinegar), it creates a decomposition reaction that releases carbon dioxide as gas. While this experiment is an example of an acid-base reaction, it’s also a great simulation of a real volcanic eruption.

Is there a baking soda volcano video?

This video shows how to make a volcano erupt using ingredients you can probably find in your kitchen.

Materials needed

To do the baking soda volcano experiment, you will need:

• Baking soda
• Food coloring
• Mini Paper Cups
• Plastic Volcano Form

Our free recording sheet is also helpful—fill out the form on this page to grab it.

Baking soda volcano experiment steps:

1. to start, place a tiny paper cup into the hole at the top of the plastic volcano mold..

2. Once your volcano is set up, pour 1 to 2 teaspoons of baking soda into the paper cup.

3. Next, add about a half cup of vinegar into a plastic measuring cup.

4. Add a few squirts of dish soap to the vinegar solution.

5. Add some squirts of red and yellow food coloring to the vinegar mixture.

6. Use a plastic spoon to mix all the ingredients in the plastic measuring cup together.

7. Pour the vinegar solution into the small paper cup at the top of the volcano.

8. Finally, watch and enjoy the eruption!

Grab our free baking soda volcano experiment worksheet

Fill out the form on this page to get your free worksheet. The worksheet asks kids to guess the correct order of the steps in the experiment. Next, kids must make a prediction about what they think will happen. They can use the provided spaces to draw what happens before and after they add the ingredients. Did their predictions come true?

Additional reflection questions

• What role does the dish soap play in the reaction that occurs?
• How would it be different if you added baking soda to the vinegar instead of the other way around?
• What do you think would happen if you added a different liquid than vinegar?
• What do you think would happen if you added more baking soda?

Can the baking soda volcano experiment be done for a science fair?

Yes! If you want to do this experiment for a science fair, we recommend switching up some of the variables. For example: Does the amount of baking soda matter? Does the type of dish soap? Form a hypothesis about how changing the variables will impact the experiment. Good luck!

Looking for more experiment ideas? Check out our  big list of experiment ideas here.

Plus, be sure to subscribe to our newsletters for more articles like this., you might also like.

16 Red-Hot Volcano Science Experiments and Kits For Classrooms or Science Fairs

Kids will erupt with excitement! Continue Reading

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Top 10 Volcano Science Experiments

Welcome to our carefully curated collection of the best volcano science experiments.

We have selected these experiments for their educational value, safety considerations, and ability to captivate learners, fostering a deeper appreciation for the wonders of our planet’s volcanic activity.

These hands-on, enlightening experiments suitable for all age groups convey the magic of volcanic eruptions and foster a deep appreciation for Earth’s geological wonders.

1. Look Inside a Volcano

Engage budding scientists as they witness the power of nature firsthand, fostering a deeper understanding of volcanic processes and igniting a passion for earth sciences.

Learn more: 123 Homeschool

2. Underwater Volcano

By simulating the eruption of an underwater volcano, students gain a unique understanding of the explosive forces at play beneath the water

3. Volcano Slime

This exciting hands-on activity combines the thrilling eruption of a volcano with the mesmerizing texture of slime.

Learn more: Volcano Slime

4. DIY Volcano at Home

Not only does this experiment provide an entertaining sensory experience, but it also introduces students to the concepts of chemical reactions and viscosity.

5. No Vinegar Volcano Science

By substituting vinegar with other safe and easily accessible ingredients, students can still witness the captivating chemical reactions that mimic volcanic eruptions.

Learn more: No Vinegar Volcano Science

6. Color Changing Volcano

Learn how to take the basic baking soda and vinegar volcano to the next level. This color changing volcano is really simple made and this tutorial includes very detailed step-by-step instructions and a helpful video.

Learn more: Color Changing Volcano

7. Sand Volcano

Engage students in a thrilling journey of discovery as they explore the fascinating world of volcanoes through the mesmerizing medium of sand. Watch their scientific curiosity erupt as they bring their own sand volcanoes to life!”

Learn more: Sand Volcano

8. Make a Lemon Volcano

By combining the natural acidity of lemons with a few household materials, students can witness an exciting chemical reaction that mimics the explosive eruptions of a volcano.

9. Clay Volcano

This hands-on activity allows students to mold their own volcano using clay and witness the thrilling eruption that follows. By combining artistry with scientific exploration, students can learn about the geological forces at play in a visually captivating way.

Learn more: Clay Volcano

10. Magma in a Bag

Encourage students to explore the fascinating world of volcanoes through this hands-on experiment that brings the marvels of geology right into their hands.

Learn more: Leslie John Stone

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Fun Hands-on Volcano Activities You Can Do at Home

Tweens will love these  volcano activities . They’re some of the easy science experiments  that should be a regular part of your homeschool.

One of the best known (and go-to) projects for older kids has to be the classic baking soda volcano. Although it’s frequently studied as part of earth sciences, it also fits into other subjects like middle school geography and ancient history.

It seems every year we find a reason to break out the vinegar, baking soda, and red food coloring so we can make our own volcano. Who knew there were so many ways to study this geological marvel at home?

Not sure where to start? Keep reading for various ways you can add a volcano science project to your homeschool lesson plans.

Kids of all ages will have a ton of fun with these ideas.

Table of Contents

Volcano Activities

Hands-on activities like the ones below are the perfect way for older students to learn about volcanoes and see an example of a volcanic reaction.

Keep reading for a free printable for a simple volcano experiment that will make it easy for you to do this project at home with your middle schoolers.

How Are Volcanoes Formed?

The Earth’s crust is cracked and broken into pieces, called tectonic plates, that are constantly shifting, causing friction. Therefore, most volcanoes form where two plates meet. They’re formed when the molten rock (magma) from beneath the Earth’s surface comes up through an opening in the crust.

A volcanic eruption occurs when that melted rock (now called lava) and gas shoot up through the opening and spillover.

There are two types of eruptions. Lava can explode through the opening, shooting debris miles into the air, or it can be effusive, like our experiment, where lava just pours or flows out, called lava flow.

Volcanic ash is made up of tiny pieces of rock, minerals, and glass.

It forms when a volcano erupts and the hot gases escape violently into the air. The force of this breaks the magma into smaller pieces and shoots it into the air where it cools and turns into fragments of rock and glass.

Ash can also be made when hot magma touches water during an eruption. When this happens, the water boils very quickly and shatters the magma.

Different Kinds of Volcanoes

There are three types of volcanoes – cinder cone, composite, and shield.

Cinder Cone Volcano

A cinder cone volcano is made up of explosive lava that builds up around a vent. It has very steep sides and a crater at the top, which is usually filled with ash and rocks called cinders.

Cinder cone volcanoes tend to be relatively small compared to other types of volcanoes.

Composite Volcano

A composite volcano is made up of many alternating layers of lava and ash. They usually have steep sides and can be larger than other volcanoes.

Because of the different gasses in the magma chamber, composite volcanoes often produce explosive eruptions.

Shield Volcano

A shield volcano is a type of volcano that’s made up of layers of lava. It has a gently sloping shape because the lava that makes it is often very fluid. This gives it a slope instead of a steep peak.

Shield volcanoes are some of the largest in the world.

Ready to build your own erupting volcano?

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Volcano Project for Kids

The most exciting way to learn is to build your own model volcano. While there are different ways to go about it, this is how to build a simple soda bottle volcano.

You’ll need:

• 1/4 cup  white vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons  baking soda
• Red coloring –  Jello  or  Kool-Aid powder  (you just need a small amount)
• Empty and clean 12 oz. plastic water bottle

Mix the red coloring and baking soda in a small bowl until it’s pink. Use a funnel to put this dry mixture into the bottle. When you’re ready for it to erupt, add in the vinegar and watch the lava ooze out.

The idea is to get the vinegar in as quickly as possible.

If you want a bigger eruption from your vinegar volcano, you can use more of the vinegar and baking soda mixture or even a larger bottle.

Also, you can add some dish soap into the bottle before you pour in the vinegar as another foaming ingredient. Want to use red food coloring instead of the crystals? Like the soap, add it to the bottle before the vinegar.

So how does it all work?

It’s a basic chemical reaction. When the vinegar and baking soda combine, they react to each other, creating carbon dioxide.

This gas quickly spreads and expands, but there isn’t enough room in the bottle for it to spread out like it wants to, so it follows the path of least resistance, the opening. It leaves the bottle fast, causing an “eruption.”

Volcano Experiment

Here are step-by-step instructions for this easy volcano experiment that you can print and use, along with a scientific method sheet.

Use them together to round out this chemistry lab.

How to Make a Paper Mâché Volcano 

To create a more realistic looking volcano, have your kids use paper mâché or a flour mixture to create a volcano shape around the empty bottle. This is an excellent summer science experiment !

• Glue the bottle onto a base (scrap piece of wood, old baking tray, plastic cutting board).
• Use  chicken wire  to build the frame of a volcano around the bottle. Make sure to leave the opening clear. Don’t forget to add in some bumps and craters for a more realistic look.
• Cover the wire in  paper mâché . Allow to dry completely.
• Paint the volcano with  acrylic paint .
• Follow the directions above to make your volcano erupt.

How to Make a Volcano With Flour and Water

• In a bowl, combine 3 cups of flour, 1 cup of salt, 1 cup of water, and 2 tablespoons of canola oil.
• Stir together with a spoon until it’s mixed well.
• Add drops of food coloring  to the dough to make it look more like a volcano.
• Glue the bottle onto a base (a scrap piece of wood, old baking tray, plastic cutting board).
• Use the dough to start molding a volcanic cone around the bottle, leaving the opening clear.
• Allow to dry completely.
• If you’d like, paint the volcano with  acrylic paint .

This short video that walks through a volcano science experiment.

Build a Volcano Kit

If your teens are looking for an easier way to build a volcano, consider buying a volcano making kit.

It’s a great way for kids to learn how a volcano works, without a lot of time and planning on your part.

Volcano Project Ideas

Ready for even more fun ideas? Here are some things you can add to your study of volcanoes.

• Use maps to locate U.S. volcanoes and current activity alerts .
• Watch a simple experiment to see how a caldera (large volcanic depression) is formed .
• Build a Venn Diagram while learning about the different types of volcanoes .
• Use these worksheets as part of your volcanic and geothermic studies .
• Make an underwater volcano .

• Add a volcano study to your Ancient History lesson plans .
• Make a volcano in a cup with erupting wax  to show how underwater volcanoes erupt and their hot by-products are cooled immediately.
• Bake chocolate volcano cupcakes .
• Build a volcano while reading  Journey to the Center of the Earth . Give this ketchup and baking soda one a try.
• Add some sound to your DIY volcano by mixing in some pop rocks.
• Lava lamp science project .

If you’ve never made a volcano as part of your homeschool science or geography lesson plans, it’s time to break out the supplies.

This classic experiment is the perfect way to study these amazing natural disasters. It’s the perfect science lab activity and a great way to make geography fun for tweens .

What is your family’s favorite volcano activity?

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My boys LOVE making volcanoes! We made them often and have learned so much about them; our favorite was the day we attended a college level class put on by one of our homeschooling friends where the boys learned all about using Google Earth to explore the world’s volcanoes, where they’re all located, and how to tell if they’re active or not. It was very neat. The teacher had so many additional slides and pictures of volcanoes that my boys were completely enthralled.

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Clay Volcano Experiment for Kids

If you are looking for an activity to get kids excited about science and art, this activity is a great place to start. Kids love learning about volcanoes and this volcano experiment for kids allows them to create their own volcano before having it ‘explode”.

I had a lot of fun doing this experiment at school with my kindergarten classes, and again at home with my own kids.

As with all science experiments, make sure an adult is supervising at all times.

You only need a few materials for this art and science activity. You will need:

• Air Dry Clay
• Baking Soda
• Food Coloring (Optional)
• Eye Droppers (Optional)
• Magnifying Glasses (Optional)

Volcano Art

This activity is a great opportunity to include an art lesson and let kids get their hands-on the clay. We spent a few days exploring the clay and creating with it because the children had not used it before.

You can simply give children the clay and create a volcano right away, but if you have the time, it makes for great art exploration.

I started by giving each child a ball of clay to create with. They got used to the feel of the clay and compared it to other art materials that they had used in the past, such as play dough.

Next, I gave children a bit of water to dip their finger in if they found a crack in their clay. The clay can dry quite quickly so children explored with the water to keep their clay smooth.

Children even spent time as artists experimenting with toothpicks to create marks.  They used sponges and water to test how the clay reacts. 

Finally, on the third day, each child created their own small volcano.

Creating the Volcano

Give each child a small ball of clay. Depending on how much clay you have, evenly divide it so that each child as large of a sphere as possible. The volcanoes work best with clay at least the size of a ping pong ball to start.

Next, roll the clay into a sphere. Then push your thumb into the center of the ball and pinch around the thumb hole to widen the top. You can also push down along the bottom so that the clay takes the shape of a volcano.

If you are doing this clay volcano experiment with lots of kids, make sure to scratch each of their names into the bottom of their volcano.

Children can also scratch some designs or prints into their volcanos, just for fun.

Since I cover prep, I teach over 100 kids so the names were very important. It was interesting because every volcano that the kids made was different! 

Let your volcano dry over night. They will be ready to go in the morning!

Volcano Experiment for Kids

To do the volcano experiment for kids, place a dry clay volcano on a plastic plate.

Next, fill the volcano with baking soda. I use eye droppers for science experiments like this because I find that children love being able to use them, and feel like ‘real’ scientists.

I also like using eye droppers because they control the amount of vinegar children add to the baking soda. It allows the experiment to go on longer and allows for quality observations.

I added food coloring to the vinegar simply because it was more fun and red looked like lava. The color also allows the chemical reaction to be more clear. Today my kids wanted it to be blue.

With the eye dropper, add a few drops of vinegar to the baking soda in the volcano. Carefully observe the reaction. Magnifying glasses are great to use to encourage careful observations. Have children look and listen as they add drops of vinegar.

As soon as the vinegar touches the baking soda, it creates a chemical reaction. We see this reaction as bubbling, and fizzing.

The children loved the fact that they were making their volcano explode!

You can continue adding vinegar until the volcano doesn’t ‘explode’ any more.

The excitement that occurred through out this experiment was amazing.  I love how hands-on the activity is and how much the kids enjoyed being mini scientists.

The other great thing that I love about this volcano experiment for kids is the fact that the children were really proud and engaged because they did the experiment.

They created the volcano and they did the science experiment. Each part of the activity was hands-on and meaningful.

For your convenience, this post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases and I may earn a small commission at no cost to you.

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Extension ideas.

One way that you could extend this activity is to create a huge volcano. If you don’t have the option for each child to create their own, or if you are working with really young kids, you could create one large volcano to present the ‘explosion’ to the kids.

Using baking soda and vinegar for science experiments is a great way to get kids excited about science. They love watching the reaction and learning a little bit about what is happening.

If you, and the kids you did the experiment with, enjoyed the volcano experiment for kids, then they will likely love doing another science experiment that creates the same ‘explosion’, but this time it blows up a balloon!

If you already have vinegar and baking soda, or have some left over, you could try out this Balloon Experiment”. All you need is baking soda, vinegar, a balloon and a plastic bottle.

Kids will be amazed that you can blow up the balloon with out even touching it to your mouth! Click the “Balloon Experiment” image below for full activity description.

Volcano Experiment for Kids Volcano Craft

If you really want to create something special to do this experiment in, you can easily create a special and sturdy volcano from plaster.

That way you can have some hands-on fun with an art project and you can use the volcano to do the science experiment over and over again.

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More Volcano Projects for Kids

If you love the volcano experiment for kids above, then you will love this collection of 15 DIY volcano project ideas for kids.

More Hands-On Teaching Ideas

If you are looking for more activities and ideas to do in the classroom, or at home with kids, below are some of my favourite and most popular learning activities.

From more easy science projects, and art units to escape rooms and outdoor learning activities are lots of things to keep kids busy and learning.

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5 Ways to Make a Volcano

There is more than one way to make a chemical volcano. Actually, there are several methods. Here are some of the best, from the tried-and-true baking soda and vinegar volcano to the most exotic dry ice volcano.

Make the Volcano Cone

You can use a bottle or can or really any container for your volcanic eruption, but it’s easy to make the volcano shape by coating your container with clay or papier mache. Here is a simple recipe for a homemade clay volcano:

• 6 cups flour
• 2 cups salt
• 2 cups water
• 4 tablespoons cooking oil
• Mix the ingredients together in a large bowl. It’s easiest if you stir the flour, salt, and oil together first and then mix in the water. You can add more water if needed. You want a firm, smooth dough.
• Stand an empty soda bottle or can in a pie tin or baking pan (so your ‘lava’ won’t make a mess) and mold the dough into a volcano shape. Be sure you don’t drop dough into the bottle or cover the opening.
• If you want to paint the volcano, wait until the dough is dry.

Now for the recipes! Most use common ingredients that you have at home.

Baking Soda and Vinegar Volcano

This is the classic science fair project volcano. The baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) reacts with the vinegar (weak acetic acid) to produce carbon dioxide gas. The detergent traps the gas, which is heavier than air, so it flows down the side of the volcano.

• liquid dishwashing detergent
• red or orange food coloring
• baking soda
• Pour warm water into the volcano until it is 1/2 to 3/4 of the way full.
• Add several drops of food coloring.
• Add a squirt of detergent. This helps the ‘lava’ foam up and flow.
• Add a couple of spoonfuls of baking soda.
• When you are ready to start the eruption, pour vinegar into your volcano.
• You can recharge the volcano with more baking soda and vinegar.

Note: If you don’t have vinegar, you can use another acidic liquid, like lemon juice or orange juice.

Yeast and Peroxide Volcano

• packet of quick-rise yeast
• hydrogen peroxide (3% sold in stores or can use 6% from beauty supply stores)
• food coloring
• Pour the hydrogen peroxide solution into the volcano until it is nearly full. The 3% household peroxide is safe to handle, but wear gloves and use extreme caution if you use the 6% peroxide, which can give you chemical burns!
• Add several drops of food coloring for your lava.
• When you are ready for the eruption, add the packet of yeast to the volcano.

Ketchup and Vinegar Volcano

This volcano bubbles and oozes lava. The eruption is not so dramatic, but is interesting and long-lasting. The acidity of the vinegar and tomatoes in the ketchup reacts with the baking soda to produce carbon dioxide gas, which gets trapped as bubbles by the detergent.

• dishwashing liquid
• Mix together ketchup, warm water, and a squirt of detergent to make lava.
• Pour the mixture into the volcano so it is nearly full.
• When you are ready for the eruption, add baking soda.

Mentos and Diet Soda Volcano

This volcano erupts instantly and spectacularly. For a truly memorable volcano, use diet tonic water instead of diet cola and shine a black light on the volcano. This produces a vivid blue glowing eruption!

• diet soda (regular soda works too, but produces a sticky mess)
• Mentos candies
• Fill the volcano full of soda (or you could have molded the volcano around a full soda bottle.
• When you are ready for the eruption, drop all of the Mentos candies into the mouth of the bottle at once. One easy way to do this is to roll a sheet of paper around the candies, put your finger beneath them to hold them in place, and release the candies over the hole. Be prepared for a major splash!

Dry Ice Volcano

This volcano appears to smoke, releasing a cascade of bubble lava.

• Fill the volcano with warm water.
• Add a bit of dishwashing liquid.
• When you are ready to start the eruption, use gloves or tongs to drop a piece of dry ice into the volcano.

Do you need more ways to make a volcano ? You can bake a souffle to model the geological processes or make a realistic wax volcano .

Related Posts

1. Learn about volcanoes

2. prepare your crater, 3. make your volcano erupt, 4. form the lava flow, 6. make more eruptions, 7. trade your volcano, 8. take core samples, 9. record your findings, 10. compare your map.

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Make a Volcano

Make a volcano with baking soda, vinegar and play dough. Then, add multiple layers that you can investigate like a NASA scientist. Test your family and friends to see if they can guess what's inside your volcano!

Watch the Tutorial

See below for materials and step-by-step instructions. For more video tutorials and activities like this one, visit Learning Space .

Watch en Español : Seleccione subtítulos en Español bajo el ícono de configuración.

In this episode of Learning Space, you will make a volcano with baking soda, vinegar and play dough. Then, add multiple layers that you can investigate like a NASA scientist. | Watch on YouTube

Piece of cardboard OR a cookie sheet

3 or more colors of play dough ( download recipe ) or soft clay

Baking soda

Paper towels

Colored pencils OR crayons (ideally matching the colors of the play dough)

2 sheets of graph paper OR plain paper

1-3 clear plastic drinking straws

Find out how volcanoes form and what causes them to erupt . Then click the planets in this interactive image to learn about volcanoes on planets throughout our solar system. Get inspired before you create your own volcano by checking out these images of volcanoes on Earth .

› Learn more about this image

Cut off the top of the paper cup so it's only about 0.5 inches (1-2 cm) tall. Place the paper cup at the center of your piece of paper and trace around the bottom to make a circle. The circle and the cup represent the crater inside your volcano. Tape the cup to the piece of cardboard or a cookie sheet. Mark north, east, south and west on both the paper and the cardboard or cookie sheet.

Fill the cup with a spoonful of baking soda. Then, slowly pour in enough vinegar to make the mixture foam up and flow out of the cup. This simulates an eruption and lava flowing out of your volcano.

If possible, use a colored pencil to trace around the edge of where the lava flew out of your volcano. Dab up the fluid with a paper towel. Then, cover the area inside the line you traced with a thin layer of one color of play dough to mark where the lava flowed.

On your graph paper, use a colored pencil that matches the color of the play dough you put down to draw the shape of your lava layer. This is the start of a map that will show where lava flowed during each eruption of the model volcano. Be sure the orientation of the cardinal directions on your map match the ones on your model volcano.

Repeat steps 3-5 three or four more times. Each time, put down a new layer of play dough and then map it out by drawing the shape of that layer on your graph paper. If you have more than one color of play dough, change colors between eruptions so it's easier to see the different layers.

If possible, trade your volcano with another person, so you can investigate one that is unknown! If you can't trade with anyone, find a family member who didn’t watch you build the volcano and challenge them to do the next steps.

Cut a plastic straw into thirds or fourths. Push an open end of the straw straight down through the play dough lava flows until you reach the bottom. Twist the straw in place and lift out a sample. This is what's called a core sample.

Looking through the clear straw, you can see the layers underneath the surface of the volcano. You can use this sample to investigate how the layers of the volcano formed over time. Repeat this step with each of your three or four straw pieces. Think about the best places to collect samples so that you can get as much information as possible.

On a blank piece of graph paper, draw a circle and cardinal directions like you did in Step 2. Use your core samples to make a prediction of where each layer of the volcano you’re studying begins and ends.

Then, use colored pencils that match the colors you find in the volcano to draw the layers on your graph paper. Try to get as close as you can with as few samples as possible!

Once you’ve created a map of your predictions, compare it with the known map from steps 2-6.

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more in Experiments

Make your own volcano.

Check out the GIANT version!

You will need

• A volcano – Talk to an art teacher about how to make a volcano out of paper mache or plaster. You can also use clay or if you’re in a hurry to make your volcano, use a mound of dirt outside.
• A container that 35mm film comes in, and old pill bottle, a baby food jar, or similar size container.
• Red and yellow food coloring (optional)
• Liquid dish washing soap
• Go outside or prepare for some clean-up inside
• Put the container into the volcano at the top
• Add two spoonfuls of baking soda
• Add about a spoonful of dish soap
• Add about 5 drops each of the red and yellow food coloring

Now for the eruption!: Add about an ounce of the vinegar into the container and watch what your volcano come alive.

A VOLCANO is produced over thousands of years as heat a pressure build up. That aspect of a volcano is very difficult to recreate in a home experiment. However this volcano will give you an idea of what it might look like when a volcano erupts flowing lava. This is a classic experiment in which a CHEMICAL reaction can create the appearance of a PHYSICAL volcano eruption. You should look at pictures of volcanoes to be familiar with the different types. (A SHIELD volcano, for example is the most common kind of volcano, and yet few people know about them) The reaction will bubble up and flow down the side like a real volcano (only much faster!) Look for videos of volcanoes erupting and be sure that you understand how heat and pressure work to really make volcanoes erupt.

MAKE IT AN EXPERIMENT

The project above is a DEMONSTRATION. To make it a true experiment, you can try to answer these questions:

1. Does vinegar temperature affect how fast the volcano erupts? 2. Does the shape of the volcano affect the direction the eruption travels? 3. What can be added to the “lava” to slow it down and make it more like real lava? 4. What combination of vinegar and baking soda creates the biggest eruption?

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Preschool Activities and Learning

Easy Baking Soda and Vinegar Volcano Eruption for Kids

May 28, 2014 by Katie T. Christiansen 5 Comments

Need a super simple baking soda and vinegar volcano recipe? This one takes about three minutes to prep (and the kids get to help). It uses six common ingredients,  and there is no mess to clean up afterward! If simple and no cleaning is music to your ears, you’re in the right place. We’ve made this five times in the past two weeks, so it’s definitely a loved activity here.

I have always loved making volcanoes with my kids, but they can be time-consuming and require lots of prep. Well, “lots” may be stretching it, but in my world, if it’s not simple, it doesn’t usually happen. The sad truth is that while I’ve thought about making a volcano tons of times, I’ve only made it happen a few. I wanted to change that by making it a super easy process. I hope you absolutely love it!

And if you love these types of science experiments, you can see even more baking soda and vinegar experiments that are simple and so fun! They are also an awesome addition to a preschool curriculum .

Baking Soda and Vinegar Volcano

How do you make the easiest volcano recipe in the world?

Ingredients

• Plastic cup (We tried a water bottle, but the plastic cup worked much better)
• 3-4 Tbs of baking soda at least (we usually do 4-6 which makes it extra foamy and will do 2-3 eruptions)
• 1 tsp of dish soap
• 1 cup (8 oz) of Vinegar to start with per eruption…then they’ll be asking for more 🙂

Location: an area with pea gravel, sand, or dirt

While you mix the base ingredients, have the kiddos make a mound out of pea gravel (or you could certainly do this with dirt). Once you have a mound, put the cup on top of it, and turn it into a mountain.  How easy is that!

We give it a good stir just before adding the last ingredient. Now it’s time for the eruption! Pour in the vinegar until it starts foaming over, pouring it’s lava all over the rocks.

The pictures really don’t do this justice, but our pea gravel mountain was just under a foot tall (30 cm).

Here’s our bubbly red lava taking over the rocks. In the background here, I’ve been hearing “there she blows!”

It is also super fun to mix up the colors a little bit! We can pour the vinegar in about three times before we need to add more baking soda to our solution.

Baking Soda and Vinegar Volcano Video

Want to see it in action? Here’s the video!

Since we can’t get enough of this, here are some more snapshots of our other volcano eruptions.

 What does it look like afterward? Here’s a picture of ours once we took away the plastic cup. You can hardly even tell we did anything, and the rocks must be nice and clean with the baking soda and vinegar. If the washable paint doesn’t come off the rocks right away, it will within a few days or the next rain.

If you want to see what this looks like with dirt, check out these fun volcano posts!

Easy Backyard Volcano by Mom with a Lesson Plan

Erupting Volcanoes in Preschool by Teach Preschool

Or if you have the time to make it a little fancier, here are some more great ideas:

Build, Paint, and Erupt Volcano by Fun at Home With Kids

Erupting Volcano Dinosaur Printable from Fun at Home With Kids

Comparing Homemade Volcano Recipes by Still Playing School

How to Build a Volcano by Kids Activities Blog

Ice Volcanoes by Reading Confetti

Messy Play Fun with Shaving Cream from Fun-A-Day!

Erupting an Easy Homemade Volcano by Mom to 2 Posh Lil’ Divas

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September 13, 2016 at 8:32 am

My son tried this Has lots of fun!

February 28, 2018 at 4:38 pm

I like the idea I have to try it thank you Katie from preschool inspirations I love it and it looks fun and cool because I have a science fair at Edison elementary and I think it would be cool thanks

April 29, 2018 at 5:51 pm

Can you do this without the paint too?

May 2, 2018 at 9:19 am

Hi Amanda, it works without paint. It just won’t be colored. Have fun!

[…] sort of guided activity during my break time. For example some fun science experiments. Making a baking soda and vinegar volcano is super easy and fun. It doesn’t take too long either so you can easily do this with your […]

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Volcano Activities for First Grade Volcano Day!

Three Fridays ago I hosted Volcano Day in my first grade classroom! We had been finishing up our study on Landforms, and I thought it would be a fun way to celebrate! My idea came from A Day in First Grade  and as soon as I saw Kristen’s post, I knew I had to do it with my class!

We started our day off like we do every morning, with our “morning meeting” on the floor by the chalkboard. I had been eluding to this special day previously, and as soon as “Vol…” came out of my mouth, I had hands raised (and, let’s be real, voices talking who I had NOT called on) wanting to share stories and experiences (and made-up stories) about volcanoes. No joke, we spent almost twice as long in morning meeting than we usually do! But they had so much fun sharing, that I let them do so. Once they had gotten most of their stories told, we moved on into our morning meeting, did a bit of morning work, and got started!

We began with this anchor chart, that I basically copied from the blog post above. I also found this poster (on the right) in my school’s library/extra teaching materials. It was PERFECT! We also skimmed a book about volcanoes, practiced our vocabulary, and had some great discussion. It blew their minds that magma and lava is the same thing, but is called something different depending on where it is (inside or outside the earth).

After that, we got our paint on! I decided to do the craft that Kristen did with her first graders. We colored white cardstock green for the grass (on the bottom) and blue for the sky (on top). I wanted to make sure that it would dry before we finished the craft, so we did the painting in the morning.

After our paintings were hung to dry, we got started on our science experiment sheet. I explained to the students how scientists write down the different parts to their experiments, their predictions, observations,, etc. and how we would be doing the same! Here is the simple experiment sheet I made for free download, if you’d like to use it!

I thought (and pinned) about the different experiments we could try, but went back to the oldie but goodie… baking soda and vinegar! We spiced it up with red food coloring too. When in Tanzania, things like dish soap and other options are either expensive, or just not available. This experiment was inexpensive, and just as fun for the students! We started by going over the materials we would be using, and wrote them in the first blank space… baking soda, vinegar, red food coloring, plastic bottle. Then, we made predictions on what they think would happen. We had a lot of students that said that it would EXPLODE and others said FIRE would come out! I, of course, didn’t say anything and let them discover it for themselves. I LOVE hearing their predictions! Their imaginations are INCREDIBLE!!!

After our writing time, we went outside to a grassy (confined) area to do our experiment. I started by having them all sit on the curb (see picture below), and put my empty bottle on a box in the grass. I had one student pour in the vinegar, another  the food coloring, and then another to pour in the baking soda. They LOVED seeing it erupt!

 Each team got two rounds of erupting, and they took turns with the different jobs. Look at those two cuties! Smiles all around!

 They had so much fun experimenting with the amount of baking soda to vinegar!

 I’m blessed to have an AMAZING teacher’s assistant, Sarah, and she was so helpful with this experiment! The kids crowded around every time there was an eruption to see it!!

They could have done this for HOURS if I would have let them! It was tons of fun!

By the end of it, our hands were red, and fun was had by all! Just remember to keep an eagle eye on all of your students! I had one who tried to DRINK the experiment (WHOOPS!).

After we had experimented (and after lunch), we reflected on what we had seen. We wrote down our observations and drew a picture of what happened.

Lastly, we finished our craft from earlier. I previously cut out mountains and they pasted them onto their now dry papers.

 Sorry for the blurry photo- it’s the only one I snapped of this part of the project!

 And then we went a-sprayin’! I found a couple of random hairspray bottles in my cabinet (though I wish I would have had a better spray bottle). I filled them with about 1/4 paint to 3/4 water, because the nozzles were finer. One had red paint the other had yellow. I had the students come outside with me one by one (while my TA was inside with the kids helping them finish up their writing and watching them) and helped them spray some paint onto their volcano, to make it look like it was erupting! For some reason, the students struggled with getting the bottle to spray, so I had to help them a lot. I think they turned out SUPER cute though!

We definitely had SO much fun, and learned a lot too! Teaching in Tanzania is hard sometimes, especially when I don’t have access to all of the resources in the States. But I love when I can share a bit of my childhood with my firsties, and give them fun learning experiences!  I also love doing themed days like this, to mix it up a bit! Let me know if you do Volcano Day in your classroom! I’d love to hear about it!

Much Love, Allie

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Step-by-Step Directions for Making a Volcano for a School Project

How to Make a Volcano

Volcanoes, nature’s spectacular marvel, are a source of wonder and delight for students worldwide. Students find the construction, formation and eruption of volcanoes fascinating and often want to re-create the marvel themselves for school projects. Creating a volcano at home is a relatively easy task as long as you allow plenty of time to complete the process.

Preparing the Materials

Determine how large you want the volcano to be. Select a base for the volcano to hold the weight; a heavy piece of cardboard, a piece of plywood or an empty box from the grocery store work well. Remember that your volcano can be only as large as the base on which you build it, so choose a base large enough to accommodate your aspirations.

Cut newspaper into long strips, and crumple several sheets into large balls. It is best to not pack the crumpled pieces of newspaper too tightly so that they will take their own shape and make the volcano look more like a natural mountain. Cut off the top portion of a water bottle to serve as the volcano “reservoir” to hold the lava until you are ready for the volcano to erupt.

Constructing the Volcano

Tape the bottle to your base using masking tape or duct tape. Then place the crumpled newspaper around the bottle to form the shape of a mountain. You will need to use several pieces of newspaper to get the correct shape. Tape the pieces to the base and to the bottle, and continue layering pieces until it looks like a volcano.

Prepare a papier-mache paste combining one part flour to one part water, mixing well. Dip the strips of newspaper into the papier-mache paste, squeeze the strip between your fingers, letting the excess paste drip off, and place the strip on your constructed volcano. Continue placing strips all around until you have covered the entire volcano. Let this dry overnight.

Finishing the Volcano

Paint your volcano. For a desert volcano, paint the volcano a dark brown with light brown at the bottom for sand. For a tropical volcano, paint the volcano a dark brown with patches of dark green scattered across the volcano to represent grass and trees. At the bottom, consider adding toy or model trees and bushes.

Making the Volcano Erupt

Prepare a solution of ¼ cup water, ¼ cup vinegar, a few drops of dish-washing liquid and a few drops of red food coloring. Put this in the empty bottle at the center of your volcano. Take one square of toilet paper and put 1 tbsp. baking soda in the middle of it. Roll it up and twist the ends to enclose the baking soda. When you are ready to present the project, drop the baking soda packet into the volcano, and watch it erupt.

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About the Author

Jack Stone, a 25-year-old freelance writer, has been writing professionally since 2009 for sites such as eHow, Golflink and Trails. He holds a Bachelor of Theology from Ozark Christian College, a certificate to teach English to speakers of other languages from Biola University and a Masters of Arts degree from Wheaton College.

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Teaching Little Kids Mrs. Franky's Classroom

Volcano Eruption

Mrs. Lucy Franky July 5, 2011 Experiments , Featured 1 Comment 12,161 Views

This is a Basic Earth Science Project In a real volcano eruption, the lava comes out of the volcano. In this project by using baking soda and vinegar we are creating a simple chemical reaction.   The baking soda is a base and the vinegar is an acid. When they react together they form carbonic acid which is very unstable, it immediately breaks apart into water and carbon dioxide, which makes all the fizzing as it escapes the solution.  

In this project, a fake volcano will erupt with a bubbly/fizzy liquid that is produced by this simple chemical reaction.

Alternatives for the Volcano:

• Buy the plastic volcano from the store and just make the chemical reaction.
• Make a fake volcano (see Art and craft section for instructions about how to do it).
• Use an empty plastic bottle and make the experiment before doing the experiment with the unreal volcano; this will allow the students to have a better understanding about what happened inside the volcano.
• 3 to 4 tbsp. Baking Soda
• ½ cup of vinegar
• 5 drops of liquid dishwashing detergent
• A container to hold everything
• Paper towels ( for the mess)

Instructions:

1. Place some of the baking soda into your container.

2. Pour in some of the vinegar.

3. Watch as the reaction takes place! It quickly fizzes over the container and make sure you’ve got some towels ready to clean up

Using a plastic bottle to see the inside process.

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Excellent idea for the classroom, I’ll make sure to try it in mine. Great pictures!!!

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Quick and Easy Volcano Experiment with Tape (10-Minute Classroom Crafts)

Make a Quick and Easy Volcano Experiment with Tape in 10 minutes for a super fun and exciting science experiment.

At Step by Step Eikaiwa, our English school in Japan, we love mixing fun crafts and activities into our English lessons. There are just a few requirements we have when deciding which crafts to do: they must be fun for all ages , cheap and easy to prepare, and most importantly, able to be completed by the end of the 45 or 50-minute lesson . You might have seen our previous erupting volcano science experiment in our Fast and Easy 10-minute ESL crafts blog , but today’s version is even better because it’s a Quick and Easy Volcano Experiment with Tape!

We got the idea to use tape instead of clay or other materials from this cool blog about making an easy-tape volcano over at Inspirational Laboratories. It’s super cool, but needed something a little smaller, cleaner, faster, and easier. That’s why we decided to use colored duct tape. Plus, we decided to put the volcano in a tray to catch the overflowing “magma.”

Page Contents

• 1 Make a Quick and Easy Volcano Experiment with Tape in 10 minutes for a super fun and exciting science experiment.
• 2 What You’ll Need To Make a Quick and Easy Volcano Experiment with Tape
• 3.1 Step 1 – Give out the supplies
• 3.2 Step 2 – Cut the grass for the volcano (optional)
• 3.3 Step 3 – Attach the grass (optional)
• 3.4 Step 4 – Make the volcano with tape and a cup
• 3.5 Step 5 – Fill in the gaps
• 3.6 Step 6 – Color your tape volcano (optional)
• 3.7 Step 7 – Add plants
• 3.8 Step 8 – Add dinosaurs to the volcano
• 4.1 Step 1 – Put in the baking soda
• 4.2 Step 2 – Put in the vinegar
• 4.3 Step 3 – Watch the quick and easy volcano erupt!
• 5 The quick and easy volcano experiment with tape is fun and educational
• 6 Need more great ideas for fun and easy classroom crafts?
• 7 Greetings Clock (Good morning, afternoon, evening, night) – Free Craft Template
• 8 5 Battle Eggs EFL/ESL Card Game Variations
• 9 5 Free Custom Photo Snow Globe Templates
• 10 7 Free Interactive Christmas Games for Online Lessons
• 11 Free Christmas Present Shooting Game (10-Minute Craft)
• 12 Free Ghost Blaster Shooting Game (10-Minute Halloween Craft)
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• 14 Pen Pan Flutes – Musical Instrument Kids Crafts
• 15 ESL/EFL Origami Craft – Paku Paku Fortune Tellers
• 16 Easy 3D Reindeer Christmas Card Craft – (Free Instructions)
• 17 Light-up Ghosts | Super Easy Halloween Kids Crafts
• 18 Quick and Easy Volcano Experiment with Tape (10-Minute Classroom Crafts)
• 19 How to play “Spell Chomp Spell” Game with ABC Chompers
• 20 Super Easy Marshmallow Cereal Shape Snacks Recipe & Lesson Plan
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• 25 10-Minute ESL Crafts: English Reading Word Spinners for Phonics Practice
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• 27 Erupting Volcano! – 10 Minute ESL Class Crafts
• 28 Top 5 Awesome ESL Activities With Less Than 1 Minute Preparation
• 29 ESL Cookie Recipe and Worksheet
• 30.1 Any of the activities above combined with BINGOBONGO Sticktionaries create super fun lessons that students will never forget!
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• 30.4 Sticktionaries | Free download | ABCs Level 3 (FUN!book 1)
• 30.5 Sticktionaries | Free download | ABCs Level 4 (FUN!book 1)
• 30.6 Sticktionaries | Free download | Adjectives 3 Level 1 (FUN!book 4)
• 30.7 Sticktionaries | Free download | Adjectives 3 Level 2 (FUN!book 4)
• 30.8 Sticktionaries | Free download | Adjectives-1 Level 1 (FUN!book 2)
• 30.9 Sticktionaries | Free download | Adjectives-1 Level 2 (FUN!book 2)
• 30.10 Sticktionaries | Free download | Adjectives-2 Level 1 (FUN!book 3)
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What You’ll Need To Make a Quick and Easy Volcano Experiment with Tape

You will need the following things to make a Quick and Easy Volcano Experiment with Tape

A medium tray (roughly 18cm in diameter

A small tray (roughly 12cm in diameter)

(optional) A sheet of green felt, roughly 20cm 2

Two small plastic cups

Colored duct tape

(optional) Oil-based permanent markers

Fake plants

Small toy dinosaurs

Double-sided tape

Baking soda

White vinegar

Red food coloring

Towels for cleaning up

How to make the Quick and Easy Volcano Experiment with Tape

Once you’ve prepared the materials, kids can easily create their own custom erupting volcanoes using any color that they like! The best part is that they can use them again and again!

Step 1 – Give out the supplies

Each student asks for their supplies to make the quick and easy volcano experiment with tape. If necessary, pre-teach them the phrases they need to know such as “Can I have the [color] tape, please?”

Step 2 – Cut the grass for the volcano (optional)

Make an outline of the bottom of the medium tray on the felt and cut out the circle as the “grass.” (You can omit this step to save time and make clean-up a little easier.)

Step 3 – Attach the grass (optional)

Apply the double-sided tape on the felt and stick it to the medium tray. The roller-style double sided tape doesn’t dispense on the plastic tray easily, so apply tape directly to the felt.

Step 4 – Make the volcano with tape and a cup

Now it’s time to make the shape of the volcano! Place a plastic cup on the small tray. Apply long strips of tape in a plus shape going from the lip of the cup to the base as pictured.

Step 5 – Fill in the gaps

Use smaller pieces of tape to fill in any gaps left over on the volcano

Step 6 – Color your tape volcano (optional)

Add details to the volcano using your oil-based permanent markers. Now would be a great time to write initials underneath! (You can omit this step for large classes to save time.)

Step 7 – Add plants

Now it’s time to get even more creative! Using small strips of tape, attach the fake plants around the volcano any way you want!

Step 8 – Add dinosaurs to the volcano

And of course, complete the theme with a few little dinosaurs!

Time for the eruption of the quick and easy volcano experiment with tape

Step 1 – put in the baking soda.

Measure out 30g of baking soda and put it inside your volcano. Break up any clumps to make the reaction more explosive. If you want, you can add a little liquid red food dye to the vinegar and mix it up to give the “magma” a more realistic color.

Step 2 – Put in the vinegar

Now measure out 30ml of vinegar. Add about 3g of dish soap to make the eventual foam extra thick and frothy!

Step 3 – Watch the quick and easy volcano erupt!

Now, quickly pour the liquid into the volcano – the reaction should take place instantly! Be sure to have your camera ready to capture the expressions on the children’s faces.

The quick and easy volcano experiment with tape is fun and educational

This quick and easy volcano experiment with tape has been a huge hit, and kids enjoy not only making their own custom volcanoes, but using English in the classroom as they learn about various things. Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is a growing movement within both EFL and education in general, where language teaching is integrated with the teaching of other subjects to teach a language as a means of communication. This experiment is a great way to teach kids about both chemistry and earth sciences, use creative skills, and practice English in a new context!

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