In “Jonathan Park and Darwin’s Fiery Mountain,” the Creation Response Team was trapped on Fernandina during a violent volcanic eruption. Now it’s your turn to build a volcano!
To enjoy time together as a family building a working model of a volcano.
- You will need to collect the following materials:
- A 2’x2’ piece of cardboard
- An empty soda bottle
- Glue gun or strong epoxy glue
- A few pages of newspaper
- A few squares of toilet tissue
- Craft paints
- Orange food coloring
- 1½ cups of salt
- 5 cups of flour
- 3½ table spoons of cooking oil
- 2 tablespoons of baking soda
- ½ Cup of vinegar
- Dishwashing soap
- Set aside about 2 - 4 hours to spend with your family on this activity.
- Using the piece of cardboard as a base, glue the soda bottle upright in the center.
- Crunch the newspaper around the soda bottle to begin forming the rough shape of the volcano.
- Next you’ll need to make home-made dough to layer on top of the newspaper. To make the dough:
- Mix salt, flour, cooking oil in a bowl. Slowly add water until it starts to become the consistency of dough.
- Once the dough is mixed, place it in a pot over low heat. Alternate between heating the dough, and kneading it until it has the consistency of play dough.
- Using the dough, mold it around the newspaper to form the final shape of the volcano. Remember to make valleys for the lava to ooze down later.
- When the dough sets-up enough to paint, color both the volcano and the cardboard base to make it look realistic.
- When you’re finished making your volcano, it’s time to make it erupt! Here’s how:
- Place the orange food coloring, dish soap, and vinegar inside the volcano (the soda bottle).
- Place the 2 tablespoons of baking soda in a square of tissue. Wrap the tissue around the soda to make a ball. Squeeze the ball of tissue and soda into the mouth of the volcano (drop it into the vinegar mixture at the bottom). Soon the volcano will erupt!
- Finish your time together in a family devotion - click here.
* You can purchase the CDs or cassettes from the Jonathan Park Web store. If you own the study guide, you may also spend time learning the scientific discoveries that support this adventure. Those study guides can also be downloaded free.
