Content

• Steps
• Method 1 of 2: Dough and Soda Volcano
• Method 2 of 2: Mentos and Foam Volcano
• Tips
• What do you need

Making a model of a volcano and making it erupt is a fun science experiment that teaches kids about chemical reactions. There are several variants of this experiment. You can make a volcano with dough, foam, or papier-mâché, and you can make a volcano with baking soda and soda.

Steps

Method 1 of 2: Dough and Soda Volcano

1. 1 Find a plastic soda bottle. The size of the bottle will determine the size of the volcano.
2. 2 Take a square cardboard box that is the same height as the soda bottle. Cut off all sides except one that will support your bottle.
3. 3 Glue the bottle to the box, to the side, and to the bottom. Add some cardboard to make the box stable.
   • Cut a few 7.5 x 15 cm strips of cardboard for support.
   • Glue them with duct tape. Avoid tape as it is very slippery.
4. 4 Knead the dough. Mix 6 cups flour (0.75 kg), 2 cups salt (0.58 kg), 2 cups water (0.47 liters) and 4 tablespoons of baking oil.
   • Knead the dough with your hands.
5. 5 Place the dough over the bottle to form a mountain shape. Let the dough dry as soon as you build the volcano.
6. 6 Color the dough with tempera paints.
   • For example, you can paint the volcano brown with green at its base.
   • Illustrate the eruption by drawing red lava on the side.
7. 7 Place a funnel in the volcano so that it reaches the bottle. Add two tablespoons of baking soda.
8. 8 Mix 1 tablespoon of soap, 30 ml. vinegar and a few drops of red and yellow food coloring in a separate container.
9. 9 Prepare your volcano for an eruption. Pour vinegar into your mixture. Wait and see how the baking soda and vinegar combine to form carbonic acid.
10. 10 Remove the bottle through the top of the volcano, or by removing the cardboard backing from the dough. Clean everything up and start over.

Method 2 of 2: Mentos and Foam Volcano

1. 1 Buy 2 liters of sparkling water.
2. 2 Make a cardboard tray and cut a hole in it about the size of a 2 liter bottle.
   • Use thicker cardboard for the tray.
   • You can also stack several cartons together for a stronger base.
3. 3 Place the bottle in cardboard. Cover the bottle with aluminum foil on top.
4. 4 Buy a bottle of anti-crack insulation foam. A spray that hardens after application works well for you.
   • You can try the Great Stuff Insulating Foam Sealant.
5. 5 Spray around the bottle to make a mountain. Once you have formed the base, let it dry.
6. 6 Paint over the dried foam when it hardens.
7. 7 Unscrew the cap of the soda bottle. Place a small piece of paper on top.
8. 8 Make a cylinder out of another sheet of paper. Place 4 Mentos Pieces in it.
9. 9 Prepare your viewers for the eruption. Quickly peel the paper off the neck of the bottle. Mentos will fall into the bottle and an eruption will begin.
   • The porous surface of Mentos will cause the rapid formation of carbon dioxide. This chemical reaction produces foam.
   • Remove the bottom of your soda bottle. Insert a new bottle and repeat the experiment.

Tips

• And although a volcano is made very quickly from foam or dough, you can also make a papier-mâché volcano by adding the baking soda or menthos method to it. Mix water and glue. Dip strips of paper into this mixture and place them on the bottle and bottom. Repeat this to create a volcano shape. Let it dry overnight and then paint over.

What do you need

• Plastic bottle
• Cardboard box
• Scissors / paper knife
• ribbon
• Flour
• Salt
• Water
• Baking oil
• A bowl
• Tempera paints
• Paint brushes
• Baking soda
• Vinegar
• Soap
• Food colorings
• Cardboards
• Aluminium foil
• 2 liter bottle of soda
• Mentos
• Curing foam
• Paper
• Papier-mâché mix (water and glue)
• Newspaper