This Exploding Volcano Experiment was sponsored by P&G as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Back to school is right around the corner! How do you prepare for back to school? We like to enjoy the last few days of summer by doing fun science experiments like a simple Exploding Volcano Experiment! It’s a great way to get some learning in, but really it’s a fun activity that kids will love to do hands on!
Easy Exploding Volcano Experiment
I love shopping for my favorite P&G Household Needs at Costco because I get quality brands that I know, love and trust at a great value to help save money! It lets my pennies stretch so I can spend them on all the back to school supplies and new clothing my kids are going to need this year (curse those crazy end of summer growth spurts)!
Back to school for us means new clothes we want to keep looking and smelling their best. So I had to grab some Downy Fresh Protect. And since we have less time to scrub dishes we want only the best so we reach for Cascade Complete Action Pacs to help get our dishes clean.
And then obviously we need a great deal of Dawn Platinum Advanced Power dishwashing liquid! We use it to wash dishes and many at home science experiments like this exploding volcano experiment!
My kids are all very fascinated with science and hands-on experiments. So while school is almost here, we still have plenty of time to get in some more summer fun!
But why not make it educational too? We don’t want to deal with summer learning lost! So we try to keep our activities at least in part educational.
We’ve experimented with bubble blowing (which if you make your own bubble solution the kids can have fun with chemistry)! Again we use Dawn Platinum Advanced dishwashing liquid.
We’ve used Dawn Platinum Advanced dishwashing liquid to do the color changing milk science experiment. And that was a huge hit for the kids!
And now the favorite, an exploding volcano experiment! My kids absolutely love this one! And I find we have to do this at least once a year, or more.
Supplies:
- two spoonfuls of baking soda Baking Soda
- warm water
- 1/4-1/2 cup White Distilled Vinegar
- Food Coloring 5 drops of each color
- 1 Spoonful (or a good squirt) Dawn Platinum Advanced dishwashing liquid
- a glass
- a volcano cover
- a dish to hold the experiment
The volcano can be made of many different things. I happened to have a left over plastic volcano topper from an old science experiment kit.
But there are actually many ways you can create your own volcano:
- cut the top off a milk jug and paint it
- create a topper from paper mache
- construct a volcano from molding clay
- create a volcano from homemade salt molding dough
- form a volcano from a mound of snow
- Shape a volcano from a pile of dirt
- Forego the volcano and just use a cup – same result just doesn’t look like a volcano
No matter how you design the volcano topper, ensure you have enough room in the center to place the glass cup/beaker that will hold the ingredients for the explosion.
Set up your scene by placing the dish on a flat surface.
Add the cup and cover with the volcano topper.
Fill the cup most of the way with warm water. Yes, it needs to be warm water. Cold water won’t offer a quality explosion.
Add a squirt of Dawn Platinum Advanced dishwashing liquid.
Then add a few spoonfuls of Baking Soda.
Add the food coloring.
To create the exploding volcano reaction, pour the vinegar into the volcano cup and watch the chemical reaction!
For this exploding volcano experiment, the details matter, like the ingredients!
The secret ingredient to the Exploding Volcano experiment is the Dawn Platinum Advanced dishwashing liquid. It traps the carbon dioxide as it tries to escape. Which causes for a greater reaction and explosion of bubbles!
Honestly, it is just such a fun experiment.
When you are finished, simply rinse dump the explosion mess down the drain. Rinse the cups and volcano off. And then you can do it all over again! Make sure to try different colors!
Also take a moment to admire the cup left over inside the volcano to see the fun separation after the chemical reaction!
Honestly, we have to do this exploding volcano experiment multiple times every time we do it! The kids just love to see it in action.
And they all have to take a turn to pour in the vinegar to create the explosion.
Can you see why I always have to buy Dawn Platinum Advanced Power dishwashing liquid in the large container from Costco? We go through it way too fast with all the fun science experiments we do. Plus using it for washing dishes too!
Dawn Platinum Advanced dishwashing liquid also helps to make the best stain remover, but that is another post for another day.
What are you best Back to school money saving tips?
What do you think of this simple Exploding Volcano Experiment?
How do you keep your kids entertained these last few summer days?