• Volcano projects are popular attractions at science fairs and in classrooms. Like volcanoes themselves, they tend to be dramatic, making them as entertaining as they are educational. The different features of a volcano (such as lava temperature, flow direction, flow rate and viscosity) are easy to model. Though some projects require that you order materials from special publishers or hobby supply companies online, most can be found right in your own kitchen pantry.
  
  

Baking Soda and Vinegar Lava

• This project demonstrates how carbon dioxide gas propels lava out of a volcano crater. You can build your "volcano" with paper mache, any kind of clay or even home-made salt dough (6 c. flour, 2 c. salt, 4 tbsp. cooking oil and 2 c. water; mix until smooth). Mold your dough around a soda bottle to form a mountain shape with a crater in the middle.
  
  To make the "lava," fill your volcano's "crater" with warm water (optionally, dye it red with a few drops of food coloring). Add six drops of liquid detergent and 2 tbsp. baking soda. When you're ready for an "eruption," slowly pour in some vinegar. The reaction between the baking soda and the vinegar releases carbon dioxide gas bubbles, which in turn cause the "lava" to bubble over and flow down the sides of your homemade volcano.
  
  

Chemical Burning Cinder Cone

• To make a volcano model suitable for demonstrating more explosive eruptions, start with an upside-down tin can that's about 4 to 6 inches tall. Place a smaller tin can on top of that, open end facing up, using a small ball of modeling clay to affix it firmly to the larger can beneath. Build up aluminum foil around these two cans, using crumpled pieces here and there to create a rocky but roughly conical volcano shape. Cover the foil with a layer of brown modeling clay, molding the sides to create a rocky texture and curving it over the edges of the top to complete the "crater."
  
  To fuel the eruption, fill the "crater" with a mixture of equal parts sulfur powder and ammonium dichromate. (Two places where you might purchase these are ArtCraftChemicals.com and ScienceForYou.net.) When you're ready, light the mixture with a long match or a fireplace lighter. Give the chemicals time to heat up; eventually, they will begin to burn, spewing ash like a cinder cone volcano. The falling ash and melting modeling clay will resemble volcanic land-building processes.
  
  Make sure to hold this demonstration in a well-ventilated area, as the noxious chemicals released during the "eruption" aren't healthy to breathe.
  
  

Molasses Lava Flow Demonstration

• For this project, you will need a raised relief map; for places to order one from, see the link to "Lava Flows on Plastic Three-Dimensional Maps." This map will show the actual shape and size of a volcano, with every corner and fold of rock represented.
  
  You will use molasses to simulate lava. Use a drinking straw to transport molasses to the top of the volcano, as follows: Stick the straw 1 or 2 inches deep into the molasses then cover the top of the straw with your thumb. As you lift the straw out, the molasses will remain trapped in the straw. It'll stay there as long as you keep your thumb covering the top end. Bring the straw over to the three-dimensional map so that the bottom end points to the volcano's peak. Lift your thumb to allow the molasses to drip out of the straw and onto the top of the volcano. Watch it flow down the slopes of the volcano, following the pull of gravity and the lie of the land.
  
  

Molasses Viscosity Variations

• Lava isn't the same volcano to volcano. Different rocks melt at different temperatures; for example, basalt lava is hotter than andesite lava, which is hotter than dacite and rhyolite lavas. The hotter the lava is, the faster its flow rate.
  
  To demonstrate the effect temperature has on viscosity and flow rate, run the three-dimensional map demonstration several times. The first time, use room-temperature molasses. On subsequent runs, use molasses heated to higher and higher temperatures.