This week’s theme:

Adventures to Volcanoes

 

This week’s colouring in sheet:

Download and print this week’s colouring sheet here.

 

Fact of the week:

There are about 1,500 potentially active volcanoes worldwide, about 500 of these have erupted over the years.

 

Activities for the week…

 

Activity 1

A volcano is an opening in the Earth’s surface (or ‘crust’). Usually found in a mountain, the opening allows gas, hot magma and ash to escape from beneath the Earth’s crust.

Volcanoes are often found at meeting points of “tectonic plates”. These plates are broken pieces of the Earth’s surface (or ‘crust’) that fit together just like a jigsaw puzzle. These cracked pieces constantly shift about, and volcanoes form where two of these plates meet and bump up against each other. When this happens it creates friction and pressure, and melted rock (magma) from deep inside the Earth rises up through the opening in the Earth’s surface (or ‘crust’). Eruptions are when that melted rock (magma) and gas shoot up through the opening and spill over, when it does, the magma is now called lava. There are two types of eruptions: Lava can dramatically explode through the opening, shooting debris miles into the air, or it can be effusive, where lava just pours or flows out.

Create a movement piece about volcanoes to remember key words. Create an action for the following words: volcano, earth’s crust, tectonic plate shifting about, build up of friction/pressure, explosive eruptions, effusive eruptions, lava flow, ash cloud, hot hot hot, run away!

 

Activity 2

When a volcano keeps erupting it gets bigger because more and more lava flows over the side. Eventually, the lava cools and it creates another layer of rock. The process repeats itself and the volcano keeps growing. Try this out by adding layers upon layers of clothing on top of each other – can you feel the layers making you bigger?

 

Activity 3

Make some art work using the colours of lava and magma – collect orange and red objects to create table-top lava flow.

Or draw some different shaped volcanoes with colourful lava pouring out, or spewing out. There are two main volcano shapes – Composite Volcanoes, which are cone-shaped with steep slopes, and Shield Volcanoes, which are very wide with gentle slopes. Can you make these shapes with your body too?

 

Activity 4

There are many famous Volcanoes, can you find these ones on a map? Do you already know anything about these countries?

Mt Fuji (Japan)

Mount Vesuvius (Italy)

Krakatoa (Indonesia)

Mount Etna (Italy (Sicily))

Mount St. Helens (United States)

Mauna Loa (Hawaii)- this is the largest active volcano in the world.

Look at some footage from volcano webcams.

 

Activity 5

There’s a horseshoe shaped area in the Pacific Ocean known as the ‘Ring of Fire’. The Ring of Fire maps a string of volcanoes – the ring is dotted with 75% of all active volcanoes on Earth

Have a sing-along/instrument play-along to Johnny Cash’s ‘Ring of Fire’ – come up with some actions too!

 

Activity 6

Volcanoes are classified as active, dormant or extinct. This refers to the amount of volcanic activity. “Active” means there’s regular activity/eruptions, “dormant” means there’s have been eruptions in the past but the volcano is currently quiet, and “extinct” means it’s been so long since the last eruption that it’s unlikely to ever erupt again.

Try a physical activity game, similar to the traffic light game. Active = green = move about quickly, erupt like crazy, be loud. Dormant = Amber = Get Ready, start to gently rumble. Extinct = red = freeze still. Ask somebody to shout these out to you; can you remember which word means which action?

 

Activity 7

With support, try making a mini eruption using the acid in citrus fruit juice, and watch the beautiful bubbly ‘eruption’. You’ll need bicarb of soda, washing up liquid, a drop of food colouring, and try it out with different citrus fruits – lemons, limes, oranges, grapefruits. What do you predict will happen? You could try it with vinegar rather than citrus juice too, what do you think will happen? Test your hypotheses.

Or, try out the hypotheses by making a simple bottle volcano. You’ll need: 1/4 cup vinegar, 2 Tablespoons baking soda, Empty and clean 12 oz. plastic water bottle, Funnel. Use a funnel to put the baking soda into the bottle. When you’re ready for it to erupt, add in the vinegar and watch the lava ooze out. The idea is to get the vinegar in as quickly as possible.

If you want a bigger eruption, you can use more vinegar and baking soda or even a larger bottle. Also, you can add some dish soap and or red/orange food colouring into the bottle before you pour in the vinegar for extra spectacle. This is all probably best done in a washing up bowl as it’s likely to spill!

 

Activity 8

Katia Krafft (1942-1991) was a French volcanologists (somebody who studies Volcanoes), she regularly braved boiling hot lava flows and active eruptions. She often went into erupting volcanoes to study them and to take pictures and videos. Watch some footage here.

It took a lot of bravery to get so close to something so dangerous. Practice your power poses to help make you feel brave and courageous.

 

Activity 9

When volcanologists hear news that a volcano is going to erupt they rush to it and scramble to the crater to watch the lava. To do this very dangerous thing they have to wear protective silver suits and helmets so that they can withstand the heat from the molten lava (which was more than 1000 degrees hot). Make your own tinfoil hat and shoe coverings to set off on your expedition to the summit of a volcano!

 

Activity 10

Make yourself a dried rice/pea/lentil shaker in a plastic tub, or learn some simple body percussion, and play it along in time to this song about Volcanos.

 

Activity 11

The loudest sound in recorded history was made by a volcano called Krakatau (Indonesia). When Krakatau erupted in 1883 it released 200 megatrons of energy – that’s a HUGE ‘Boom’!

Practice conducting loud and quiet sounds, get out your conductor’s baton and make small gently motions at the quiet start of this classical song, as the volume increases, make larger motions with your baton.

 

Activity 12

Play a game of ‘the floor is lava’. Imagine the floor in your house is made of lava. If you step onto the floor you’ll burn your feet. Create some stepping stones (marked out places on the floor) for you to jump between, making sure you don’t land anywhere else and into the lava! What happens when you move your stepping stones further apart? What if the floor is lava all morning – will you remember not to step into the lava as you go about your day?

 

Activity 13

Make a bubbling lava artwork with straws and watered down red, orange and yellow paint.

 

Why not take a photo of any of the activities you’ve tried this week and share it with us? You can share it on our Facebook, Instagram or Twitter or send it to melanie@purplepatcharts.org and we’ll put it online for you!