Hobbies And Interests
Home  >> Science & Nature >> Science

How to Make a 3-D Volcano Landform for Kids

Unlike a mountain that develops from the ground up, a volcano forms over time. The cone of the volcano forms from ash and molten lava that flows from the crater. Despite their destructive nature, volcanoes are quite wondrous and play a crucial role in the formation of the earth. Learning about volcanoes, including how and why they form, is an important part of science. One way to help kids recognize volcanoes is to construct a 3-D landform that they can use as a visual aid.

Things You'll Need

  • Pizza box
  • Sharp scissors
  • Water-based acrylic paints
  • Paintbrush
  • Soda bottle
  • Modeling clay
  • Index cards
  • Double-sided tape
Show More

Instructions

    • 1

      Cut the lid off a pizza box using a sharp pair of scissors. Paint the bottom of the pizza box green using acrylic water-based paints and a paintbrush. This will serve as the base of your volcano. Allow the paint one to two hours to dry.

    • 2

      Stand a plastic soda bottle, minus the cap, on the center of the painted pizza box bottom. The height of the soda bottle dictates the height of the volcano.

    • 3

      Cover the bottle with modeling clay. Use your hands to mold the clay around the bottle, spreading some of the clay onto the pizza box to hold the bottle in place. Mold the clay into the recognizable cone shape of the volcano.

    • 4

      Paint the walls and top of the volcano. For a realistic look, a color in the brown family is the best choice. Allow the paint to dry one to two hours.

    • 5

      Add some streaks of red paint to the volcano to represent the lava. Fill a paintbrush with red paint and drag the color down the walls of the volcano and along the grassline, or in this case the pizza box, below. Allow the lava to dry for one to two hours.

    • 6

      Label the parts of the volcano landform using index cards. Label one index card ̶0;lava flow.̶1; Write ̶0;cone̶1; on a second index card and ̶0;crater̶1; on the third. Attach a piece of double-sided tape to the back of each index card.

    • 7

      Attach the ̶0;crater̶1; index card against the upper section of the volcano. Attach the ̶0;lava flow̶1; index card on the lower portion of the volcano, near the red paint streaks. Attach the ̶0;cone̶1; index card to the middle of the volcano.


https://www.htfbw.com © Hobbies And Interests