Now that winter is almost here, we are ready for snow! Whenever it does snow, my boys cannot wait to get outside and play. I wanted to incorporate some science into all this fun snowy play, so we made a snow volcano and it turned out even cooler than expected! The best part is that it was so simple to make and it entertained the boys for hours!
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Materials needed to make a Snow Volcano (affiliate links):
- A big pile of snow
- Small plastic bowl
- Dish soap
- Vinegar
- Food coloring or liquid watercolors
- Baking soda
What to do:
- Start by making a big pile of snow.
- Then put a shallow plastic bowl in the top.
- Fill the bowl with white vinegar, a little dish soap and some food coloring or liquid watercolors.
- Finally add a heaping tablespoon of baking soda, mix and watch the “lava” flow.
We kept changing the color of our volcano by mixing different colors with vinegar and then adding it to the bowl. It was so fun to see a new color of lava start flowing out of the top and mixing with the other lava. We also kept adding more baking soda when it started to stop bubbling and that got the bubbles going strong again. So fun!
Snow Volcano Video:
Check out our snow volcano in action in the below video:
Why It Happens:
The science behind this is that vinegar is an acid (dilute acetic acid) and baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is a base and when the two are mixed they produce a gas called carbon dioxide.
For more fun science experiments click here.
Looking for more winter/holiday ideas? Check out all our seasonal winter/holiday activities here.
