Volcano Activities
Volcano activities Creating SHIELD VOLCANOes
Volcano activities projects are fun to creates different types of volcanoes. In this volcano you will be creating a shield volcano cut in half that shows the inside layers of shield volcanoes.
How and where hot spot volcanoes form
In these volcano activities you will be creating and painting a shield volcano. The Hawaiian Islands have formed over a hot spot in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
All the Hawaiian islands are shield volcanoes.
The big island of Hawaii is the product of five shield volcanoes. Shield volcanoes form when basalt from the upper mantle erupts forming thin layers of lava. The volcanoes are broad resemble a warriors shield, hence their name.
Shield volcano cut in half showing layers beneath the volcano Myrna Martin
Materials
- Salt
- Flour
- Aluminum foil
- Dental floss or string
- Paper clip
- Various colors of acrylic paint
- Mixing bowl
Directions
- Mix together in a mixing bowl: 2 cups of flour, 1 cup salt and 1 cup water.
- Knead the dough until smooth.
- Add more water or flour if needed.
- Take a small piece of dough and form a small ball then flatten the ball to represent the red magma camber at the bottom of the volcano.
- Place the dough on a 12 x 12 inch piece of aluminum foil.
- Form a small pancake and drape it over the "magma chamber" in the center of the tin foil.
- Create a larger pancake and drape it over your shield volcano.
- Continue making pancakes that are larger and larger until you have all the dough used up.
- Cut the volcano in half to expose the inside layers using dental floss or string.
- Using a paper clip create the dikes and throat of the volcano by pulling the paper clip through the soft dough.
- Cut out a caldera at the top of the volcano with the paper clip and use it for the two small cinder cones on the flanks of the volcano.
- Bake the volcano in a 225 degree oven until the dough is hard and the bottom is brown and dry. This may take 12 hours or more.
- Paint the volcano with acrylic paint similar to the picture in this volcano activity.
More Links to Science Activities
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Globe Toss - Earth Science Activity Compare the size of the world's oceans in this activity that is just a toss up of fun!
Shield Volcano - Volcano Activities Create a shield volcano out of clay like the Hawaiian Islands in these hands-on volcano activities.
Science Activities Fun and easy activities that demonstrating science concepts can be found on this page
Home Page The Science Site contains information on our planet, volcanoes, science projects, earthquakes and much more.
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