Hobbies And Interests
Papier Mache
Make papier-mache to hold your volcano together. It is a mixture of flour, water and salt that forms glue. The salt acts as a preservative. Make papier-mache with either 2 cups flour, 1 tbsp. salt and 2 cups of cold water, or you can make the mixture with hot water. When the flour and salt are mixed with hot water the glue paste will dry clear, but it will not be as strong as if you had used cold water. Strips of newspaper are dipped into the papier-mache and adhered to the volcano base.
Cardboard Base
The base of the paper volcano will need to be sturdy to hold the weight of the volcano and to make it easier to transport, if necessary. Generally, a heavy piece of corrugated cardboard will do the trick. For more stability, you can cut a piece of plywood down to your specifications and used that instead. The cardboard or plywood base will usually not be visible as it is covered with a layer of papier-mache.
Plastic Bottle
Use an empty soda bottle as the base structure for your paper volcano. The bottle you choose to use will determine how large your volcano will be. For a beginner project, a simple 20-oz. soda bottle will be sufficient. For a larger design, use an empty 3-liter soda bottle. For volcanoes that will be made to erupt, the soda bottle also serves as a holder for the ingredients used to make the lava. Glue the plastic bottle to the base board. You can pack modeling clay around the bottle to hold the papier-mache strips or place chicken wire around the bottle to hold the strips.
Finishing Touches
To finish the paper volcano, use a selection of paints and brushes. You must first make sure the papier-mache has had sufficient time to dry before painting. Paint the cardboard or plywood base of the volcano a grassy green color that extends part way up the volcano. Use brown paint closer to the top. You can even use white for a snow capped look. Get creative and paint rocks, trees and other natural items.
Lava Ingredients
A homemade volcano is more fun when you can actually see it erupt. To do this, you will need to add several ingredients to the plastic bottle. You can put most of the ingredients into the bottle before you place the papier-mache around it. You will use about a 1/2 cup of vinegar for a small bottle, increasing the vinegar proportionately for the larger-sized bottles. You will also add a few drops of dishwashing liquid, also increasing for larger bottles. Just before eruption, add a few drops of red food coloring for a more realistic effect. You will then add three to four tbsp. of baking soda that has been wrapped up in a tissue into the top of the soda bottle. The addition of the baking soda will make the volcano erupt.