Volcanoes

In Science class last week we worked on volcanoes. We were learning about volcanoes using our videos, smartboard lessons, and building a small scale volcano. But the kids in our class took an interesting step with their volcanoes. They made it into a real science experiment. Not a simple "can I make it spew?", but a science problem wondering why each volcano reacted differently.

Here are a few of their thoughts:

What went wrong in our volcano is it was small, but it was too small. I think the Kool-Aid that we put in it messed it up and probably it didn't have enough vinegar. Also maybe some of the clay. It also didn't have enough baking soda so that's why it didn't explode! --Kyle

 

I think that Tyler's worked because it was small and I think that ours didn't erupt because it was small at the top by the bottom it was big. I think that's why my group's didn't erupt because it was too big and it was too wide at the top. It was really fun!--Natasia

I thought mine worked because ours was small and everyone's was bigger. We also used a lot of vinegar and baking soda so that's why I think mine worked but no one else's worked. --Tyler

I predict that the volcano is way too wide and it does not matter how big the volcano or how tall it is. It is that volcanoes sometimes don't erupt! It doesn't matter of the length and how wide it is because it is still a volcano. --Orin

 I thought it went bad. I think it went bad because there was clay in the bottle. Tyler's volcano erupted because his was shorter and there was no clay by the bottle top.--Dominic

After hearing each student's conclusions, we retested their volcanoes. Only one group had a new outcome.

I thought it was great to ask those higher level questions and ask the kids to figure out and try it again! We had a wonderful time making volcanoes! Let's just hope we never have to experience it in real life!!!