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Volcanos erupt when deep pockets of hot magma rise through cracks in the earth's crust. As magma rises, dissolved gases expand and gas pressure increases. When pressure is strong enough, the volcano erupts like a shaken soda bottle popping its top.

Topics and Connections:

• Volcanoes
• Design and construction

Materials:

• newspaper, flour and water
• styrofoam peanuts
• hose
• paper
• balloons
• cups
• other materials [toothpicks, yarn, rubber bands, marbles, glue,...] whatever you have lying around that might be good in a construction and design project.

Directions:

Teacher:

• Tell the class they're going to build a volcano, but that they have to design it first, so it will actually be able to erupt. Talk about the parts of a volcano: the cone, the tube running down its center to magma chambers below, the crater at the top... This volcano will have some material inside it (styrofoam peanuts) which will erupt out the top.
• Discuss different ways to eject the material, and try various approaches. Note: many kids may suggest the 'classic' vinegar-and-baking-soda volcano. (While this makes a fair amount of fizzy 'lava', it doesn’t have much force). You may want to encourage them to find a different solution that actually blows the material inside into the sky, as Mt. St. Helens did. (Or you might simply 'forget' to include vinegar and baking soda in your stockpile of materials.) Anything involving pressure, like blowing air up from the bottom of the tube with the hose, is a good approximation to a real volcano.

Students:

• Either in small groups or as a whole class, they should design the mechanism and build a volcano and put their plan into action. If their first eruption method doesn’t work, have a second brainstorming session to discuss what the problems were and how to overcome them.

Questions to Ask:

• How many different methods did you come up with to make an eruption?
• What effects did the eruption have on the volcano and the material inside?
• In what ways was your volcano similar to a real one? How was it different?

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