Make your own volcano !

To make your own volcano, you will need:

For the volcano:

• a strong piece of board (i.e. hardboard or thick cardboard)
• lots of old newspaper
• aluminium foil
• a test tube or similar thin plastic/glass tube
• paint - brown, green and grey
• sticky tape or glue
• (optional: spray glue, sand and clear varnish)

For the lava:

• a small pot of bicarbonate of soda
• a bottle of vinegar (malt works best)
• red food colouring

Method:

1. Securely tape the test-tube to the centre of the piece of card so that the open end is at the top, and the tube stands up vertically on the card, which will act as a base.
2. Build up a cone shape around the test-tube using different sized balls of rolled up newspaper, making sure the top is level with the centre of the tube. Tape or glue the balls in place to stop them from coming apart.
3. Once you have created a good cone shape (don't make it too symmetrical), cover the whole structure with aluminium foil. (It's a good idea to scrunch the foil up a bit, to give the surface of your volcano some texture.) Secure the foil in place with some sticky tape or glue.
4. Make a hole in the foil where the opening of the test-tube is.
5. You can now make your model look like a real volcano by painting it. Once the paint is dry, the surface can be given an even more realistic texture by spraying it with glue and sprinkling some sand on to it.
6. If you want your volcano to last numerous eruptions over an extended time, you may want to strengthen the surface by giving it a couple of coats of clear varnish.

Making your volcano erupt:

To make you volcano erupt, place a small amount of bicarbonate of soda (half teaspoon) in the bottom of the test-tube. Add a couple of drops of food colouring to some vinegar (~2-4 teaspoons), pour into the test-tube, and watch the thick, bubbly lava flow down your volcano!

Making different types of volcanoes:

The volcano you have just made is a stratovolcano and is similar to Mount Etna, Stromboli and Vesuvius in Italy, and Mount St. Helens in the USA. These volcanoes have steep sides and are generally made up of alternating layers of lava and pyroclastic material and/or ash. The lava is generally very sticky (or viscous) and cannot flow very far before it cools down and hardens to form rock.

If you use a 35mm film container instead of the test-tube, and build the volcano up in the same way, you will end up with a much flatter model. This type of structure is called a shield volcano, a good example of which is the main island of Hawaii. These volcanoes form from much runnier lava that can flow a long way and spread out from the vent before it cools and hardens into rock. As the lava flows away from the vent, it can form two different types of features - blocky 'a'a lava or ropy pahoehoe lava.

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