ALTOONA, Pa. (WTAJ) — In this episode of Science with Shields, Christy Shields shows you how to make a Snow Volcano. If you make one outside over the next few days share your videos and photos with us!
What you need:
- Snow
- Jars
- Food Coloring
- Dish Soap
- Vinegar
- Baking Soda
- Cookie Sheet (if not outside)
Instructions:
This experiment is best if you can do it outside. If you can’t, you will want a cookie sheet to contain the mess.
First, you will want to take your empty jar and build a snow volcano around it. Once you build your volcano, add baking soda to the container, about three cups of it, along with a few spoonful’s of dish soap.
In a separate jar, mix the food coloring and vinegar. We used red food coloring to represent lava. Once everything is ready to go, add the vinegar to the jar with the baking soda and dish soap, and watch the reaction.
Science:
What is happening in this experiment is the baking soda is a base, while the vinegar is an acid. When the base and acid react, it will create fizzing and bubbling. What is happening is the reaction from the baking soda is creating carbon dioxide. When you add the dish soap, it then creates the big bubbles to ooze out of the volcano. Try adding different amounts of vinegar, baking soda, and dish soap and see what happens to the reaction.