Back to activities

Indoor activity

Kitchen Volcano

Build a fizzing, erupting volcano right on your kitchen table using simple ingredients and pure chemistry — no hot lava required!

Ages 5-8 1 hour Education 9/10

Materials

  • Baking Soda
  • Food Colouring
  • Paper
  • Plain Flour
  • Small Containers
  • White Vinegar

Illustrated Steps

1

Build the Volcano Base

Mix flour and water into stiff dough. Mould it around a small container into a cone shape, leaving the top open.

2

Prepare the Lava Mix

Pour white vinegar into the container and add drops of red or orange food colouring plus a drop of washing-up liquid.

3

Add the Secret Trigger

Fold baking soda into a paper pouch. Hover it over the volcano opening and count down from three together.

4

Watch the Eruption

Drop in the baking soda and step back! Carbon dioxide gas from the acid-base reaction creates a spectacular fizzing lava flow.

What You’ll Create

A spectacular erupting volcano on your kitchen table! 🌋 You’ll shape a simple dough cone around a container, fill it with a secret mixture, then trigger a magnificent fizzing lava flow using a real acid-base chemical reaction — all from your kitchen cupboard.

How to Set It Up

Step 1: Build the Volcano Base

Mix a handful of plain flour with a little water to make a stiff dough. Mould it around a small container to create the cone shape, leaving the top of the container open. The steeper the sides, the more dramatic the eruption looks!

Step 2: Prepare the Lava Mix

Pour 3 tablespoons of white vinegar into the container. Add a few drops of food colouring — red or orange for molten lava effect — and a small drop of washing-up liquid to create extra foam.

Step 3: Add the Secret Trigger

Fold 2 teaspoons of baking soda into a small piece of paper to form a pouch. Hold it over the opening and count down from three together — then drop it in!

Step 4: Watch the Eruption

Step back and watch the lava overflow down the sides! The vinegar (acid) reacts with the baking soda (base) to produce carbon dioxide gas — that’s what creates all those glorious fizzing bubbles.

Have fun!

  • 🔴 Try different food colouring combos — what does purple lava look like?
  • ⏱️ Time how quickly the eruption starts after you drop in the baking soda
  • 🔬 Repeat five times and write down what you observe each time
  • 💡 Try more or less baking soda — does the eruption size change?

Why It’s Amazing

  • Chemistry: Children see a real acid-base reaction — science made tangible and spectacular! 🧪
  • Scientific Method: Varying the ingredients introduces hypothesis, experiment, and observation. 🔬
  • Maths: Measuring spoonfuls and timing eruptions builds practical number sense. 📐
  • Curiosity: The dramatic result motivates children to keep asking “why?” and experimenting. 🌟

Pro Tips

For ages 5–8: Focus on the colours and the fizzing — no need to explain chemistry deeply. Let their curiosity lead the way.

For ages 8–12: Introduce the words “acid” and “base” and challenge them to predict the outcome before each eruption — then check if they were right.

Lay down newspaper or do this in the kitchen sink for easy clean-up!