Appropriate grades or age groups:
Elementary School
Middle School

Estimated time to complete activity:
About 15 minutes

Materials needed (if applicable):
Baking pan
Soda bottle
Moist soil
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 cup vinegar
Red food coloring

Description of Earth Day activity:
My son had so much fun with this activity that after we made our first volcano, he invited over his friends so that he could show them. This is also a great activity for when those school science projects come up. We got the instructions from the book ScienceArts by MaryAnn Kohl.

1. Place the baking pan on the grass, and set the soda bottle in the middle of the pan.

2. Mound and shape the moist soil around the bottle to form a mountain. Bring the soil right up to the top of the bottle's opening, but don't get the soil inside the bottle.

3. Pour one tablespoon of baking soda into the bottle.

4. Color one cup of vinegar with red food coloring.

5. Pour the colored vinegar into the bottle. Stand back and watch red foam spray out of the top and down the mountain like lava from a volcano. Link to The Backyard Volcano for more information on this activity.