More Information On How To Build A Volcano

By Author: Rob Thomas
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Making a volcano is a quick and easy technique to see the principles of a real volcano up close and personal without really facing the harmful gases and molten lava a real volcano make. Therefore if you are interested in building a volcano or you need to make one as a science project or something, here is all you have to know to make one using things found in your dwelling.

Required Tools

1. Brushes

Required Materials

1. 6 cups of flour
2. 2 cups of salt
3. 4 tablespoons of cooking oil
4. 2 cups of tap water
5. Warm water
6. Baking soda
7. Red food coloring
8. Dishwasher detergent
9. Vinegar
11. Baking dish/plywood
12. Plastic soda bottle (2 liter or smaller)
13. Paint
14. Plastic decorations (trees, shrubs, rocks, etc)

Instructions

Begin with the dough, which will become the mountain of the volcano. You can buy play dough or some other kind of pre-made dough if you wish however, since these guidelines are for items you probably have readily accessible at home. You can make your own dough using the flour, salt, ...
... cooking oil and tap water. Your dough must be smooth and firm so that it is easy to mold.

Put the baking dish/plywood on a flat surface to function as the base of your volcano (a baking dish might be best because it will enclose the lava when it overflows and lessen the amount of lava you need to wipe up).

Place the soda bottle on the base you choose and begin molding the dough around it to create a mountain. If you do not have enough dough to wad the mountain and make it as large as you choose you can put cardboard, wads of newspaper or similar things around the sides of the bottle to fill up some of the space.

Take the cover off the bottle if you have not previously done so and take the dough all the way up to the top of the bottle until the bottle is entirely invisible. You can create grooves in the side of the mountain for lava to flow down, or whatever else you desire to make the mountain more realistic.

Allow the dough-mountain to dry entirely and then use brushes to paint the mountain or spray it with spray paint. You can then set the plastic decorations around the mountain and on the sides to decorated it to your choosing, then it is time to move on to the explosion of the volcano.

Fill the bottle to about 3/4 with the warm water and add the red food coloring. Put in about 6 drops of the dishwashing detergent to create the foam element of the volcano, 2 tablespoons of baking soda, and then pour about a 1/4 cup of the vinegar inside the bottle and stand back and witness the explosion happen!
You may use and reuse the volcano as many times as you desire, all you need to do is use a rag to wipe up the lava flow and it is ready to go again.

Tips and Warnings

1. Be cautious not to drop dough inside the bottle as you make the mountain since the dough can interfere with the concoction used to make the volcano erupt.
2. The water in the bottle does not need to be hot however, the warmer it is, the better the explosion will be.
3. If you want orange-colored lava, add a few drops of yellow food coloring along with the red coloring inside the bottle.
4. Put in more than 2 tablespoons of baking soda if you desire an even bigger explosion but be ready for the extra clean up!
5. Do not attempt to cover the bottle after you add the vinegar as pressure may grow inside the bottle and make it explode.
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