Pink Lava!

When we were on vacation, we went to a big game zone and won tons of tickets. Tons. Molly (4) and Ben (1) got to choose lots of prizes between the two of them ... ok, I chose Ben's for him. Anyway, one thing Molly chose was a make-your-own-volcano kit! We finally got a chance to start it one afternoon during Ben's nap. This was a two-day project, but could have added even a third day if Molly had wanted to paint it.

So first we used the cone shape and some plaster of paris provided to mold a volcano shape. This part was a little messy but not too bad, and Molly really enjoyed it. If you don' have a kit, you can make a papier-mache cone to use. We let ours dry for 24 hours. The next step could have been to paint it (realistically or not) the next day, but Molly opted out of that and wanted to get straight to the lava!

I already forgot how we made the lava, but I'm sure you could look it up for sure. Wait, shouldn't that be my job as the blogger? Okay - found it: mix 1/4 cup of vinegar with 1 tablespoon of liquid dish soap... then we added food coloring to make it a good lava color. Well, actually Molly chose to make pink lava - of course! lol You put a couple tablespoons of baking soda at the mouth of the volcano, then snake a tube through the whole thing and simply squirt your lava mixture through! It bubbles as it touches the baking soda. Also, it can squirt pretty far so just be ready with some extra paper towels.

All in all this wasn't such a messy project as I thought it was going to be. It was fun and no more involved than doing two separate projects on those days. Molly got a big kick out of being a "science-tist" (as she called herself) and wearing protective goggles. I'm sure there are more volcanoes in our future. As for your future: check my blog next time for a fun and yummy volcano recipe!