Look Inside a Volcano Science Experiments Project for Kids

August 30, 2021
| | | | | | | | | | |
Save & Share:
Take building a classic volcano experiments for kids to whole new level with this volcano science project where your kids can actually see what happens INSIDE the volcano during an erruption!  This volcano project ideas is perfect for preschool, pre-k,  kindergarten, first grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, 4th grade, 5th grade, and 6th grade students. Plus this homemade volcano is super EASY to make!
Take building a classic volcano experiment for kids to whole new level with this volcano project for kids where your kids can actually see what happens INSIDE the volcano during an erruption!  This volcano science project is perfect for preschool, pre-k,  kindergarten, first grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, 4th grade, 5th grade, and 6th grade students. Plus this homemade volcano is super EASY to make!

Volcano Experiment for kids

A volcano experiment for kids is pretty much the epitome of a fun, appealing science experiments for kids. Let’s be honest – all you really need to make this homemade volcano  is an empty water bottle, some baking soda, vinegar, and maybe a little food coloring and your child is pretty much guaranteed to have a good time.  If you want to make it a little more realistic, bury your water bottle in some sand or dirt and watch your very own volcanic eruption. My kids and I have made some version of a homemade volcano probably a dozen times. However, this time I wanted to make the experience a little more educational by allowing the kids to actually Look Inside a volcano project for preschoolers, kindergartners, grade 1, grade 2, grade 3, grade 4, grade 5, and grade 6 students.

Whether you are a parent, teacher, or homeschooler – this is a volcano project ideas you are going to want to try!

teaching kids about volcanoes with this homemade volcano project

Volcano science project

The one concept I always try to get through to even my youngest preschooler is that in reality, the red stuff that comes out of a volcano is melted rock. After the melted rock comes out of the volcano, we call it lava, but when it’s INSIDE the volcano, we call it magma. (My 3 year old is very proud of her ability to remember these words.) However, since we’re learning terminology anyway, I thought it would be fun to challenge my 6 year old with some more words that relate to volcanoes.

volcano with flowing lava

Volcano project for kids

Instead of just using an empty bottle or covering the bottle completely, this time I decided to try covering the water bottle half way leaving a cross sectional view. This allows the child to effectively see inside the volcano.

To make it more realistic and add more terms, we used clear tubing for the volcano’s vents. Many volcanoes have a primary central vent as well as a number of smaller secondary vents. These vents form when the pressure inside the magma chamber builds up, pushing the magma to the surface. When the magma finally breaks free in an eruption of lava and rocks, a crater is likely to form where the vent meets the surface.

I also thought it would be fun if we were able to erupt our volcano from a distance. We used a separate tube and an inexpensive ketchup dispenser to load the vinegar into our volcano and start the chemical reaction to simulate our lava flow.

volcano project materials

Volcano project ideas

All you need to make this epic DIY volcano project are a few simple materials including:

  • Small water bottle (or big if you want to make a bigger volcano)
  • About 3″ of clear tubing with 7/8″ outer diameter (fits perfectly inside opening of water bottle)
  • About 4 feet of smaller clear tubing (we used 5/16″ outer diameter and 3/16″ inner diameter, but actual dimensions are not critical)
  • Brown play dough (we used 4 times this recipe with about 1/4 cup of instant coffee replacing the 15 drops of food coloring. This made about 8 cups of dough.)
  • Tray to hold volcano (we used clear glass pie dish)
  • Empty ketchup dispenser with skinny nozzle
  • Baking Soda
  • Vinegar
  • Red food coloring
  • Scissors
  • Single hole punch
  • Funnel
  • Measuring Cup
  • Clear sheet of thin plastic (we used a thermal laminated pouch, laminated with nothing inside)
  • Sharpie or other marker for clear plastic
  • Dish Soap (optional)
  • Chopstick (for stirring, optional)
Place-Tubes-Into-Magma-Chamber

Homemade volcano

The first step is to insert the smaller tubes into your water bottle. You want to end up with two 6″ tubes directly across from each other on the left and right of the bottle (the secondary vents) and one long 3 foot tube between them at the back (play dough side) of the bottle (the tube for inserting vinegar). To insert these tubes, first trace around the tube at these 3 locations near the opening of the water bottle. Then use the single hole punch to cut out the interior of your drawn circles. You may need to punch 3 or 4 times for each hole. Then insert the tubes as shown.

Cover-Magma-Chamber-with-Brown-Play-Dough

Volcano projects

Next, cover half of the magma chamber (water bottle), secondary vents, and vinegar tube with brown play dough. Add the 3″ larger tube to the opening of the water bottle to form the central vent or throat of the volcano and cover that with brown play dough as well, as shown. Make sure you form a crater near the top. When you are done, you can cut off the excess length of the secondary vents. (Note: While you are doing this, you may want to skip ahead to Step 4 and fill your water bottle with “magma”. I waited until my volcano was fully formed before adding the baking soda, food coloring, and water, but it might have been easier before covering the bottle with play dough.)

Make-and-Place-Shield-on-Volcano-Crater

Homemade volcano for kids

Next use your marker to mark the edges of your crater on a thin piece of clear plastic. Use your lines as a guide to cut out a small piece of plastic which will contain the escaping lava and force it to go down the volcano side and not the cutaway side of your model. Attach the plastic to the volcano using play dough as shown.

Make-Baking-Soda-Magma-Solution-for-Inside-Volcano

Kids volcano project

Fill water bottle with baking soda solution. As mentioned earlier, at this point I filled my water bottle with the baking soda solution, but I had to remove my clear plastic shield and add it back at the end. It would have been easier to fill my bottle in Step 2 before even adding the large tubing for the central vent. Using the funnel, I added 1/4 cup of water with 20 drops of red food coloring. To that, I added about 1/2 cup of baking soda to the water bottle. The baking soda quickly settled to the bottom of the bottle. You could likely try using less water and a chopstick to stir up the mixture in order to make it look like more uniform “magma,” but I just left it as is.

Make-Vinegar-Solution-for-Volcano

Volcano project

To make the vinegar solution, simply fill your ketchup bottle most of the way with vinegar and add some red food coloring.  You could also add a little dish soap to make the lava more foamy. I used about 20 drops of food coloring and a tablespoon of dish soap.

Homemade Volcano

How to make a volcano for kids

Our “lava” was fully contained, but unless you’re braver than me, I might recommend taking your volcano outside. To start the lava flow, simply insert your ketchup bottle tip into the long tube and squeeze the vinegar into volcano.

Volcano Project where you get to look inside the erupting volcano

Kids Volcano Experiment

If after awhile the chemical reaction seems to stop, insert a chopstick down the central vent of the volcano to stir up the baking soda. Stand back and have fun! 🙂

100 Amazing Food Experiments for Kids - so many clever edible science projects for kids of all ages to explore chemistry, biology, physics, and earth science! #scienceexperiment #scienceproject #kidsactivities capillary-action-science-experiment-for-kids DIY Lava Lamp - super easy way to make your own lava lamp with simple things you have around your house. This homemade lava lamp is such a fun science project for kids of all ages to sneak in some summer learning. This science experiment is for toddlers, preschoolers, pre k, kindergarten, first grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, and kids of all ages at home, homeschool, summer camps, classroom, etc. Have you ever heard of a lemon volcano? Kids are going to love this fun, creative,volcano experiment that screams summer! This simple lemon volcano experiment is perfect for curious kids from toddler, preschool, pre-k, kindergarten, first grade, 2nd grade, and 3rd graders too. All you need are a few simple materials to make some amazing erupting lemon volcanos!

Science for Kids

Looking for lots more fun, science experiments for kids? You’ve GOT to try some of these outrageously fun science experiments for kids! We have so many fun, creative and easy science experiments for elementary age children:

This amazing color changing slime is going to blow your mind! This heat sensitive slime will actually change color as your kids touch it because it is heat sensitive! This is a super cool project for kids you MUST TRY! Must try summer activity for kids to add to their summer bucket list  Help kids learn about what is under their skin with this fun, interactive, and hands on human body project for kids from toddler, preschool, pre k, kindergarten, first grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, 4th grade, 5th grade, and 6th grade students. This can be a simple life size human body project or use our free printable templates to add bones of the body, organ templates, and more. This engaging science project is EASY and LOW PREP too.  Looking for a really fun and memorable science experiment for kids? You will love these EPIC pop rocks experiment. Try this pop rocks science experiment with preschool, pre-k, kindergarten, first grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, and 4th grade students to try a simple chemical reaction. This Whether you try this pop rocks science experiments for homeschool science, at a science birthday party, or as part of a summer science project - this is a MUST try,  really cool science experimentkids will LOVE.

This vinegar and baking soda rocket is an out-of-this-world fun AND educational summer activity for kids! Preschool, pre-k, kindergarten, first grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, 4th grade, 5th grade, and 6th grade students will enjoy making the baking soda rocket. This how to make a bottle rocket project is one of those really cool science projects your kids will remember forever!   Look-Inside-a-Volcano-Activity Kids are going to love this really fun Frozen Rainbow Eruptions science activity where kids will make beautiful rainbows as they create a chemical reaction! This baking soda and vinegar experiment! This rainbow activities for preschoolers usese a couple simple materials for a mesmerizing, colorful preschool summer activity! Use this rainbow science with toddler, preschool, pre-k, kindergarten, first grade, 2nd grade, and 3rd graders.

Baking Soda Vinegar Experiment

There are so many fun ways to play and teach kids about chemical reactions using a baking soda and vinegar reaction. Here are some of our favorite baking soda and vinegar activities.

This outrageously FUN Exploding Snowman is a fun winter science experiment for kids of all ages from toddler, preschool, pre-k, kindergarten, first grade, and 2nd grade students. This STEM experiment is super simple to try using common materials you already have in your kitchen! Use this as a snowman activity to teach kids a little chemistry with this baking soda and vinegar experiment. dancing hearts valentines day science experiment This super cute and simple Valentines Day Science Experiment is sure to impress your kids. Leave your toddler, preschool, pre-k, kindergarten, first grade, and 2nd graders a secret message to be revlealed in the valentines day activity. This valentines day science idea is outrageously fun and EASY to try this February! This magical Melting Christmas tree project is sure to bring some magic and fun into your day this holiday seasons! Try this simple, easy Christmas Science Experiments with preschoolers, kindergartners, toddlers, and grade 1 students to sneak in some fun Christmas Learning! This Chemistry Christmas tree is such a fun Christmas activity for kids to try this holiday season!

Baking soda and vinegar reaction

Beth Gorden is the creative multi-tasking creator of 123 Homeschool 4 Me. As a busy homeschooling mother of six, she strives to create hands-on learning activities and worksheets that kids will love to make learning FUN! With over 20 years educating children, she has created over 1 million pages of printables to help teach kids alphabet, math, science, English grammar, history, and so much more! Beth is also the creator of 2 additional sites with even more educational activities and FREE printables - www.kindergartenworksheetsandgames.com and www.preschoolplayandlearn.com. Beth studied at the University of Northwestern where she got a double major to make her effective at teaching children while making education FUN!

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

3 Comments

  1. Can I use this as a steam fair project? My 5 year old wanted to do something like this.

    Reply

  2. Hi, I just like to say that thank you. We have been looking everywhere for these! Thank you also for creating this website!

    Reply