Hobbies And Interests
Base
Form a base from a pie pan or a piece of cardboard before you start building your clay volcano. The project is ultimately very messy, so you need to have a base at least 2 by 2 feet. Glue a 16 ounce plastic bottle from a soda or water into the center of the base. The contents of your chemical lava is mixed inside the bottle. Allow it to dry completely.
Volcano
Build up clay around the plastic bottle. Air dry clay works well for this project, but most any modeling clay or polymer clay, which a clay-like substance made from vinyl, can be used. However, polymer clay does not dry unless baked in a conventional oven. Start with a thin layer of clay around the bottle and add more clay until you achieve a volcano shape, which is cone-like. Be sure to leave the opening of the bottle free of clay.
Decorations
Before the air dry clay completely dries, add twigs, grass and leaves around the volcano to make it look realistic. An alternative is to wait until the clay dries and paint it. Using acrylic paint, brush on brown paint all over the volcano. The top area may be left white and paint the bottom of the volcano green for the trees and plants that grow around these landforms. Allow the paint to dry completely.
Mixture
Take your clay volcano outside for the experiment. Add a few drops of red food coloring into 1/2 cup of white vinegar to make part of the lava mixture. Place a funnel into the top of the volcano, and add 3 tablespoons of baking soda, one drop of liquid detergent and 1/2 cup of water. Pour in your red vinegar mixture and stand back to watch the eruption. Once the eruption is over, you can add baking soda and vinegar again.