I just can’t let Letter Vv pass us by without making a volcano! This has to be one of my favorite experiments to do with young children… it is so exciting!

To get started, you first need to make a volcano. I have tried many different volcanos over the years… I have made them from clay, dirt, just a simple cup, and even a cake! You can make your volcano any way you want, but I decided this time to try a clear cup turned upside-down, mimicking the shape of a real volcano. I didn’t want to have a huge mess of “lava” all over the table, so I housed my volcano in a small storage container from my kitchen.

Cut a hole in the bottom of the cup to make a “vent” for your volcano. I chose a clear cup because I wanted to be able to see the reaction inside the volcano, but any cup will work. You can also use a yogurt container, or any small container like this. After you cut a hole in the bottom, use hot glue to fasten the cup to the storage container.

Now it is time to gather some supplies. You will need vinegar, baking soda, a cup, and a spoon. You can also grab some food coloring if you want your lava to come out a certain color. We chose orange!

Use the spoon to put 3-4 heaping spoonfuls of baking soda into the volcano. After a couple of attempts, we discovered that you get a better reaction if you spread the baking soda around the bottom of the volcano rather than leaving it in a pile.

Next, pour some vinegar into a cup. We experiment with different amounts, but about 4 oz, or 1/2 cup, worked really well. If you want to have colored lava, put 3-4 drops of food coloring into the vinegar. Now it is time for the eruption! Pour all of the vinegar quickly into the volcano and see what happens!

What happened? Did your volcano erupt? Now try experimenting a little bit. What happens if you do everything the same way, but you pour the vinegar very slowly into the volcano? What happens if you use more or less baking soda? Try different things and discover what combination makes the very best volcanic eruption!