Discovery (Making a volcano)

Volcanoes

Aim: In passion project 2018 I joined the group discovery. I want to find out how to make a volcano and what causes a volcano to erupt.

What have I been working on? I have been working on building a paper mache volcano. I decided to build a volcano because I thought it would be interesting to learn and to build.

Method on building the volcano:

1. Get a cardboard base. 
2. Place a plastic bottle (lid off) in the middle of the base (tape the bottle down).
3. Add balls of newspaper around the bottle to make a volcano shape.
4. Mix 1 part water and 1 part glue to make your paper mache solution.
5. Once the paper balls are down, paper mache the balls to make a smoother coverage (don't paper mache the top, you want the lid to be able to screw on)
6. Layer the paper mache up to make sure its sturdy.
7. Once dried and hardened you can start painting the volcano. 
8. Paint the lid and drill a small hole in the middle of the lid.
9. Screw the lid back on the volcano.

Method on making the volcano erupt:

1. In a beaker measure out 35ml of hydrogen peroxide (this will depend on the size of your bottle, ours was 500ml)
2. Tip the hydrogen peroxide into the bottle and add a squirt of dish soap (add food dye if you want to change the colour)
3. In another beaker measure out 30ml of potassium permanganate.
4. When you tip the potassium into the bottle, step back and watch the eruption. 

What have I enjoyed about Discovery?

Being able to try something I have never tried before and because it was really fun.

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