Each week I tutor two of my homeschooled grandsons in math. We’ve begun adding a science project each week. One of our favorites is the volcano!
Their mom and dad knew about the project and gave strict instructions to do this outside of the house.
It’s a pretty simple project. I used a one liter water bottle. I had the boys wrap it in wrinkled brown craft paper secured with a little bit of scotch tape.
Using a funnel, I put a half cup of baking soda into the bottle. I added a teaspoon of red food coloring to a cup of vinegar and had the boys pour through the funnel. The “lava” bubbled up and flowed down the side of our mountain, better than I imagined it.
Like a good nerd grandpa, I showed them the chemical reaction on their homeschool marker board. I confess, I had to look it up. It’s been fifty-six years since high school chemistry.
In elementary school, the volcano was one of the classic science fair experiments, along with a lemon powered lightbulb and burning a hole in paper using a magnifying glass. Rarely did these win prizes, but they were popular projects nonetheless.
