We love STEM fun at our house, so when my mom, Mimi, told us she had come up with a very simple experiment to make a volcano, my kids and I were excited to give it a try. It was a great bonus that we could conduct this experiment using ingredients we already had in the house!
This simple volcano is colorful, fun, and a great STEM experiment for toddlers and preschoolers.
My kids keep asking me to make the volcano again and again!
Here's how to do it:
At-home exploding volcano
Ingredients:
- 1 cup vinegar
- 4 tbsp. baking soda
- baking sheet
- plastic or paper cup
- food coloring
- 1 tsp. dish soap
Directions:
1. Add baking soda to your cup. (Make sure to always keep your cup on the baking sheet to make clean up a breeze!)
2. Pick your colors and add into the cup.
 |  |
3. Add liquid dish soap to the cup. This will create fun bubbles!
4. Add the vinegar and ...
watch your volcano erupt!
The science behind the experiment:
You can explain to your children that the vinegar is an acid and the baking powder is a base. When they combine it's a chemical reaction and it creates carbon dioxide, which is a gas that bubbles everything up and out of the cup! The food coloring and dish soap just add extra flair.
Check out the video of our homemade volcano erupting:
Helen Partlow is the publisher of Macaroni Kid Mt. Sinai & Macaroni Kid Port Jefferson, N.Y.
Are you an Insider Yet? Macaroni Kid makes it super easy for you to find your family fun all year long. Receive a local calendar of family-friendly events each Tuesday morning when you SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE! You'll be glad you did ... and so will your kids! For even more fun, find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
