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Contents
Introduction
There’s a lot of fun to be had in this world, but nothing compares to making your very own volcano. We’ll show you how!
Step 1 – Make the Base
- Get a small cup or bowl that can hold water. Make sure it’s stable and won’t tip over when you add lava to it!
- Try to make the base as big as possible so that you have room for lots of ingredients. If your base is too small, the volcano will be unstable and might tip over easily.
- Even though its purpose is different from real volcanoes, make sure the base is deep enough to hold all of the materials that will go inside it later on down in Step 2 (the “lava”).
Step 2 – Build the cone
- Build the cone.
- Use a rolling pin to roll out a section of clay into a cone shape, about 3 inches in diameter at the top and 4 inches tall.
- Use a knife to cut out the top of your cone, where you’ll place your volcano later on. Smooth any rough edges with your fingers or some water from your sink if needed.
Step 3 – Keep adding clay
If you have a big enough bowl, it’s best to just start adding clay right in the bowl. If your bowl is small or you want to add more than one color of clay, make sure your volcano has plenty of space for all that added mass!
If you’re using your hands, start by pulling out some large chunks of wet clay from the bucket. Then mash them together in the center of your volcano until it’s nice and thick. Stick with an even thickness throughout—you don’t want any weak spots where water could seep through when moving on to step 4!
Step 4 – Make a hole for the eruption
- Make a hole in the base of your volcano. The opening should be wide enough to allow water and vinegar to flow through it, but not so big that it will leak out of the volcano more quickly than you want.
- Make another hole in the top part of your cone, about half an inch (1 cm) below where the cone meets with its base. This is where lava will flow out during an eruption!
- Finally, make two small holes on opposite sides of your crater: one on each side, about ½ inch (1 cm) from its edge and 1½ inches (4 cm) from where one wall meets another
Step 5 – Make the Lava
To make the lava, use a mixture of water and red food coloring. Pour the liquid into your volcano! Be sure to keep the volcano away from children—lava can be hot and messy, so don’t let it touch anyone or anything.
You can make a volcano at home in about an hour with materials from around your house
You can make a volcano at home in about an hour with materials from around your house.
To get started, you will need the following:
- plastic bottle (the wider and shorter the better)
- tape or glue (optional)
Conclusion
There are many ways to make a volcano at home, and this is just one of them. You can try other methods to see what works best for you and your family. The important thing is that by learning how volcanoes work, we can all learn more about the world around us!
