How to Make a Mini Volcano

A standard of science class and science fairs everywhere, volcanoes are so much fun to make and watch that you forget you're actually learning something. Just as in nature, no two volcanoes are alike, whether it's the outer appearance or the inner workings. Experiment with making your own erupting mini volcano.

Things You'll Need

• Large disposable aluminum baking pan
• 12 or 16 ounce soda bottle
• Moist soil or sand
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 1 cup clear vinegar
• Red food coloring

Instructions

1. Set the disposable baking pan on a steady surface, either a table or the ground.

2. Place an empty soda bottle in the middle of the pan. Tightly pack soil or sand around the base so that the bottle stays upright. Continue to add soil, shaping it around the bottle without covering the opening at the top. You want to achieve the shape of a tapering mountain, with the narrowest part at the top.

3. Stop when your creation resembles a volcano. Add depressions to the side, like natural gullies or ravines, in the slope of the volcano for lava to flow down through from the "crater." You can stick small twigs in the side of the volcano to double as trees.

4. Put one tablespoon of baking soda into the bottle.

5. Mix red food coloring with 1 cup of vinegar. Experiment with the hue. Real volcanoes usually erupt with red lava that changes from dark red to black.

6. Pour the colored vinegar into the bottle. Use a funnel, but remove it as soon as all the liquid enters the bottle.

7. Move a step back from the volcano and watch what happens when the vinegar interacts with the baking soda. It produces a carbon dioxide gas that pushes foamy liquid lava out of the bottle top.

Tips & Warnings

• For a different type of mini-volcano, use modeling clay instead of soil to build a mountain around your soda bottle.