Classic Volcano Experiment

by Parul Ghosh
(India)

I had made a volcano using some clay material. Inside that mountain I had fixed a bottle. Then for the color of lava I had put some red color in it which was mixed with baking soda. This was the initial arrangement.

In a glass I had a sufficient amount of vinegar ready. I explained everything to the member of jury. Then to explain the working of volcano about how would it look like when the lava comes out of the volcano I poured the vinegar inside the bottle present inside the mountain. Then a reaction occurred which seemed very much like that of volcano.

Barry's Response Aaah, the good old Classic Volcano Experiment. What science fair would be complete without one?

I hope you had fun with it. What did you learn? You could talk about the analogy, how the flow form the device you created resembles volcanic flow, or you could elaborate on the chemical experiment that prompted your flow to begin with.

Understandably, that's not the point of the experiment, but if a half-dozen other kids are doing the same thing, at least that approach would have made your presentation unique. Sometimes that counts for as much as anything.

One more thing to note: This activity shown in the photo above looks more like a diet-coke-menthos experiment. A little more dramatic, equally as fun. Try it sometime.

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