Outdoor Volcano Making Kit

Looking to create and have fun with your own fun outdoor volcano making kit? BOOM! This is a fun activity your kids will love. Oh, the infamous homemade volcano that actually explodes. I remember this being the go to science project when I was a kid. As a mom I must admit, this experiment isn’t my favorite. Of course I love the OOOHs and the AAAHs but the clean up…not so much. That is when I came up with an ingenious idea (ok, I probably didn’t come up with it).

Make the volcano outside!

It is a win win situation! You get to create a volcano using natural products found outside, it can be as big as you want, you get the OOOOHs and AAAAHs AND there is zero clean up except to pick up your water bottle.

When your child is having fun and being actively engaged they are more likely to retain the information given. What better way to learn about volcanos than by building your very own out in the dirt, snow, sand etc. Even better, read them a story while they are building their volcanos.

Here is a cute story of a gopher and how he survives a volcano and helps to make things grow again. Here is another cute book of a legend told in Mexico City of two volcanos.

We made ours in the snow this time, but are looking forward to doing this nature activity on many of our hikes. Here is what you need to create your outdoor volcano making kit. It is simple and something you can pack with you.

Items you need

Two empty water bottles
Baking Soda
Dish Soap
Vinegar
Food Coloring
Natural things outside (dirt, rocks, sand, snow, sticks etc)

Once you gather these times, it is now time to do the prep work for making your outdoor volcano making kit.

Step #1

Get one empty water bottle and pour 1/3 cup – 1/2 cup of baking soda into it.

Step #2

Add about 1 tsp of dish soap to the water bottle with the baking soda. That is all you need in this water bottle, so you can label it and close it up

Step #3

Grab your other empty water bottle and fill it up half way with vinegar and add a couple drops of food coloring. That is all you need for this bottle. Label it and put on the lid.

That is all you need to do for the prep work. Now you need to head outside and make your volcano.

Step #4

Place the water bottle with baking soda and dish soap on the ground and build a volcano around the water bottle. You can do this with snow, dirt, sand, rocks or a mixture of them all. You can add little branches for trees, build shacks out of sticks etc. Your imagination is your limit.