Science Experiment

(This is the volcanic eruption we were going to make...courtesy of the Internet.)


With the recent volcanic eruption some 80 miles away, Jude and I have been spending lots of time talking about volcanoes. For a 4 year old, the concept is some what understandable but consists of some arbitrary concepts I'm not sure the kiddo understands. For example, molten lava, plate tectonics, pyroclastic blast, etc...these are all very complicated words and ideas for a little guy. So, last weekend at breakfast T mentioned that her nephew had recently created an erupting volcano with some household items. That conversation got me thinking. (For the record, anytime I'm thinking...you better watch out! No good can come from it!) I began to think that for my son to actually understand a real volcanic eruption, I should create one and let him watch in awe. So, that's exactly what we did yesterday, twice.


So, I went on the Internet and found the easiest volcanic eruption recipe I could find: Diet Coke and Mentos candies. We went to the store and bought the ingredients. The ingredients were actually quite difficult to find here in Japan. I couldn't find a 2 liter Diet Coke because they don't have them in Japan, so we used a liter and a half. Mentos were a wee bit difficult to find as well, but I wasn't willing to quit at my task. I was determined to create the eruption...no matter what. So, here is the result:

The Diet Coke shot into the air 5 feet. The eruption lasted about 3 seconds. It was quick but awesome! So, we did it twice. Each time I giggled with glee.

Here I am getting ready to put the Mentos into the bottle of Diet Coke. Once the Mentos were in, I had to run to escape the cascading Diet Coke. My sleeves got a little wet, but it was well worth it.

Here is Jude smiling his goofy 4 year old smile, waiting with anticipation for the volcanic eruption.

This experiment was easy and exciting, especially for little, little kids. It was really messy so we did it at the park near our apartment. The materials were relatively cheap, and I intend to repeat the volcanic eruption again sometime soon.

After this experiment, I think my calling was to be a science teacher and not an English teacher!

Just another day in Weenie's World!