<p>My 6th grader is working with a group in science to build a volcano. They of course want to do something out of the ordinary.They are set as to how to make the eruption but could use some creative ideas for the physical shape of the volcano. She has a list of items her group has asked her to pick up. I don’t think their idea for the outer shape of the volcano is going to work. They wanted styrofoam that they are going to cover in clay.
Any ideas?</p>
<p>You can’t beat chicken wire with a paper maiche topping for natural lanscape shapes.</p>
<p>Clay will slip off of styrofoam.</p>
<p>I vote for salt clay. If I remember right, it’s one part salt to one part flour, then thickened with enough water to keep its s hape. You can make it look amazingly rock like. You need to build some kind of base to form it on.</p>
<p>Flour salt and a little water makes a decent play dough. I think I have seen whipped tide and water dried to be a land scape but you might need to put in food dye.</p>
<p>If you want you child to understand the vocanic process…micro wave a bowl of water and oat meal…the thicker the oatmeal the greater the mess…really thin magma boils over and creates a shield vocano (Like Mauna Kea in Hawaii); thick magma, like a microwaved tomato paste, makes for explosive vocanoes like Mt. St. Helen.</p>
<p>If you want any information height/width ratio maximums, feel free to ask me. I took a graduate level course in volcanology. I’m in the field right now, but I believe I have the notes on my laptop.</p>
<p>ophiolite- I believe from their scale drawing they are planning 2 feet at the base and 1 foot height. Sounds like a big volcano.
Cheers I will pass on the info about the styrofoam. My husband suggested chicken wire as well but my D said they have to do the whole thing themselves and they might have trouble with the chickenwire. As the female in the group she has collected the assortment of pebbles and tiny fake flowers for the outer decor.
It sounds like they are allowing them to have room for trial and error. So I think the first attempts might be replaced as they learn from their mistakes.</p>