Theory Thursday: Mini Volcanoes

I saw this idea on Pinterest, though the link led to only a picture and not a blog. It is such a simple activity and takes seconds to set up, yet the result never get old. The kids always find the reaction of vinegar and baking soda fascinating. Vinegar (acetic acid) and baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) react to form carbonic acid. Since the carbonic acid is unstable, it immediately breaks down to carbon dioxide and water. The bubbles are the result of the carbon dioxide escaping.

The kids don't care why it works. They're just happy that it does.

You'll need vinegar, baking soda, food coloring (optional), something to contain the baking soda, something to hold the vinegar, and something to dispense the vinegar.

Mix the vinegar and food coloring in the cups and dump baking soda on the plates.

Next comes the fun!

 Squirt the vinegar on the baking soda to make it bubble and foam.

The more vinegar you use, the bigger the reaction will be.

And the bigger the smile!

It'll make little craters all over the plate.

Continue making volcanoes until they no longer form.

Then you'll need to dump it and fill the plate with fresh baking soda so you can do it all over again!

And again. Until you empty your baking soda box and need to purchase more.

Of course, they weren't done though. They dumped it all in a bowl, like the rain in a jar experiment, and continued experimenting.

 And just like before, they made a big mess and we transferred outside.

They added grass, sand, sticks, water, and whatever else they could find. They tested theories and mixed potions. For over an hour. 

The analysis? Lots of hands-on learning fun.

So, whether you're erupting mini volcanoes or continuing further exploration, take time to investigate the laws of science.

And have fun!

Theory Thursday: Volcano Fossil

There is a lady at our church that gives us all sorts of fun school things. She gave us the egg spinner, the JELL-O egg mold, a ton of file folder games, and a few other things.

She gave Jake a special gift last weekend, just because. She even wrapped it up for him. You can bet he was super excited! And then, once he saw what it was, he was even more excited! No more of this fake paleontologist stuff. He was going to excavate his very own fossil.

The kit came with a cute little shovel and a hardened-sand volcano.

Jake went right to work chipping away the sand.

We were both surprised just how much work it was.

And how much of a mess it made.

Eventually though, he made enough progress to spot the treasure inside.

It still took a while longer to work away the sand from the rest of the fossil.

 Success! You can see just how happy his blurry little face was once he finally broke the fossil loose.

We're not exactly sure what it is. It just looks like a rock to me, and maybe it is, but maybe it is a real fossil. Jake was confused at first. He was under the assumption that all fossils are dinosaur bones. It led the way for a discussion about what fossil are. 

It was a perfect learning experience!

I wish I would have kept track of how long the activity took him. It was very time-consuming, which is a good thing. Of course, we had to keep the sand so we can wet it, hide a new treasure inside, and practice paleontology all over again! It's the gift that keeps on giving.