Papier-Mâché Volcano

Materials:

• An empty plastic bottle/cup • Newspaper • Masking tape • A box or similar “to contain” the volcano (we used a flat cake board) • Plain flour and water • Paints • Waterproof varnish (optional) Papier-Mâché Paste

Mix one part flour to two parts water in a container (half a cup of flour and a cup of water). Some recipes suggest you heat the mixture in the microwave, but we used it cold and it worked just fine. Make your Volcano

Cut down the cardboard box to create a base for your volcano to go in and to capture the fluids from the erupting volcano. Place your empty plastic bottle/cup in the centre. Scrunch up some newspaper and place it all around the bottle. Using your masking tape, make a “frame” - running from the top of the bottle down to the cardboard platform and trapping the scrunched up newspaper underneath. Tear newspaper into strips and start applying your papier-mâché layers all around the volcano – using the masking tape as a frame. Let it dry. Now get painting! We used all shades of brown, grey and black for the rock, then added lava in red, orange and yellow. Let it dry.

Add a coat of waterproof varnish. For the Volcanic Eruption:

To make the lava, all you need is bicarb and vinegar. I added red food colouring to the vinegar to make it look like lava. Add the bicarb to the cup at the centre of your volcano and pour in the red vinegar, and watch it bubble out like lava! By Sarah Mackintosh.