Molten lava erupts from an active volcano.
Stratovolanos produce slow-moving lava and ash, resulting in sloped sides. This type of volcano is also called a composite volcano. American stratovolcanos include Mt. Hood in Oregon and Mt. St. Helen's in Washington state. A stratovolcano model serves as a working model, demonstrating the volcano's features, including its characteristic shape and an active eruption. This model requires only common materials and is suitable for most age groups.
Instructions
1. Center a 1-liter plastic bottle on a piece of heavy cardboard to serve as the lava tube for the stratovolcano model. Apply 4-inch strips of tape to the base of the container, sticking half of the tape strip to the tube and half to the cardboard to hold the container securely in place. Apply the tape all the way around the bottom of the container to make it solid. This will protect your volcano from damage.
2. Wad up newspaper into balls the size of your fist and the size of baseballs. Squeeze craft glue in zigzags around the base of the lava tube in an area the desired size of the volcano's base, for example, in an uneven 8 to 10 inch circle. Volcanoes tend to have irregular shapes. A stratovolcano forms from repeated lava flows over time.
3. Stick the largest balls of newspaper in the glue around the lava tube to form the volcano's base. Drizzle glue on the tops of these balls of newspaper. Stick some smaller balls of newspaper on top of them. Continuing gluing smaller balls of newspaper on top of the each layer until you reach the top of the lava tube.
4. Cover the volcano model with foil, using a sheet that will reach from the base on one side over the top of the lava tube and down to the base on the other side. If any newspaper is left exposed, add a second sheet of foil crosswise to the first piece of foil, so that the volcano is covered to the base all the way around. Squeeze the foil and newspaper with both hands to shape the volcano. The foil takes on folds and ridges like the surface of an actual volcano, and you can use the pressure of your hands to make the top of the volcano taper to a narrower shape if it looks thick at the top.
5. Take the model outside. Pour glue in a can or paper cup and apply it to the stratovolcano with a paint brush. Pour sand or ash over the volcano to give it a natural texture. Allow the model to dry for at least 30 minutes.
6. Pour 1 cup water, 1 tbsp. baking soda and 1 tbsp. dish soap in a pitcher. Add 10 to 12 drops of red food coloring if desired, to make the lava mixture the color of molten lava. Pour the mixture into the lava tube.
7. Pour 1 cup of vinegar into the lava tube. The chemical reaction of the acidic vinegar with the baking soda forms carbon dioxide gas and causes the eruption. The soap gives the lava some thickness and froth for a realistic effect.
Tags: lava tube, balls newspaper, baking soda, into lava, into lava tube, smaller balls, smaller balls newspaper
