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Making Play Dough Volcanoes

April 1, 2013 by OneMommy

I hate to waste anything, especially if it’s something we could use for crafting.  This includes Play-Doh when it starts to dry up.  I have bags of it hidden away, just waiting for a crafting opportunity. 

We’ve made some fun Play Doh monsters and even Play Doh ornaments with it.

And most recently?

We had volcanoes erupting in the kitchen!

It was an easy leap — they absolutely LOVED our earlier fizzy science experiment, so I knew this would be a hit.

making a play dough volcano

Play Dough Volcano

Making these play doh volcanoes is one of our favorite dinosaur activities for preschoolers.  

To help reduce the mess, use a cookie sheet that has an edge.  

Use your old play dough to form a volcano shape in the center of your tray.  

building a volcano
What goes better with volcanoes than dinosaurs?

Once your volcano is ready, add a tablespoon of baking soda inside the volcano’s opening.  

We learned that if you sprinkle a little on the outside it makes for an even more dramatic eruption.

uses for old play-doh

Mix 1/4 cup of vinegar with a couple drops of red food coloring in a small cup.  

Then allow your preschooler to slowly pour the vinegar onto the volcano.

play dough volcano

Watch out, dinosaurs!  The volcano is erupting! 

making a play dough volcano

 

We learned that the slower you pour the vinegar, the better the volcanoes worked.

We were able to use our Play-Doh volcanoes 3-4 times each before my daughter decided it was time to get messy!play doh volcano

The wet, squishy Play-Doh held their interest for a long, long time.   

I’m so glad I used cookie sheets that had sides to contain some of that mess!  play-doh experiment

We had so much fun making this play dough volcano.  I’m sure your kids will love it, too! 

 

You’ll also like these posts:

  • Preschool Activities with Vehicles
  • Preschool Mad Scientists Lab

Filed Under: Kids Activities Tagged With: fun with learning, preschool

Comments

  1. Kristen says

    April 2, 2013 at 3:18 pm

    I use vinegar and baking soda to unclog my drains and yet I hadn’t thought of doing this. Bean would be so thrilled to do this…even at nine years old.

    As for the last time we got messy…just yesterday. We were painting bird houses and planting some herbs. ๐Ÿ™‚

    • OneMommy says

      April 2, 2013 at 10:01 pm

      I have to admit, it was fun for me, too, even at 38! ๐Ÿ™‚
      I had never considered what fun they’d have with the Play-Doh afterwards…

      Glad to hear the weather is warm enough there to do some planting; hope it gets a tad bit warmer here!

  2. Rach says

    April 2, 2013 at 6:25 pm

    Oh fun! I need to try this with Will!

    • OneMommy says

      April 4, 2013 at 4:34 pm

      Hope he loves it as much as we did!

  3. Angie says

    April 3, 2013 at 8:23 am

    What fun! I used vinegar and baking soda to power a car for a science experiment when I was a kid, but it wasn’t nearly as much fun as your volcanoes look to be!

    • OneMommy says

      April 4, 2013 at 4:34 pm

      I’ve heard of boats like that! I need to hunt up something similar for my son — he’d be crazy for a car or boat driven by baking soda and vinegar.

  4. Eva Gallant says

    April 3, 2013 at 1:01 pm

    Looks like everyone had a good time. Wish I had known about this when my kids were little! I just stopped by from SITS to say hello; hope you find time to do the same.

    • OneMommy says

      April 4, 2013 at 4:36 pm

      Sometimes you discover things on accident…. Thanks for stopping in! Off to check you out soon!

  5. Melissa @ Fit 'n' Well Mommy says

    April 3, 2013 at 6:14 pm

    This is such a great idea! Keenan would love this! I’ll be saving this for the future!

    • OneMommy says

      April 4, 2013 at 4:32 pm

      I hope he enjoys it as much as my two scientists did! ๐Ÿ™‚

  6. Donna DM Yates says

    April 4, 2013 at 2:58 pm

    How fun is this, and what a mess. Sometimes, messes are the best part.

    • OneMommy says

      April 5, 2013 at 7:19 pm

      Yes, sometimes messes are the best part — I should let them do it more often.

  7. OneMommy says

    April 4, 2013 at 4:35 pm

    I’m thinking we will have to do the messy part again when it’s warmer. Old tablecloth, the great outdoors, plenty of water…. Yep, I am thinking that will be some fun! Hope your kids like it as much as we did! Thanks for stopping by; off to check out your site!

  8. Denise says

    April 6, 2013 at 10:50 am

    That looks like a lot of fun. I wouldn’t have thought to use old playdoh like that.

    • OneMommy says

      April 6, 2013 at 10:05 pm

      I never got to make one of those volcano science projects growing up… This was a easy way to go. And fun!

  9. Mariam says

    April 6, 2013 at 4:11 pm

    This sounds fun! When I was in school we used plaster of paris in our models for volcano eruptions etc; but that was kind of static. Your idea is definitely more exciting and your kids seem to enjoy it so much! I also feel like trying it ๐Ÿ™‚

    • OneMommy says

      April 7, 2013 at 10:13 am

      I never got to do the plaster of paris one….but these were definitely fun!

  10. Sara says

    April 7, 2013 at 5:48 pm

    SO doing this tomorrow!!

    • OneMommy says

      April 8, 2013 at 1:15 pm

      Hope you have as much fun as we did! ๐Ÿ™‚

  11. Sara says

    April 8, 2013 at 10:17 am

    We did this today!! I just posted pictures of it on my blog and linked up to you. Thanks for the great idea!!

    • OneMommy says

      April 8, 2013 at 1:16 pm

      Can’t wait to read your post! ๐Ÿ™‚

  12. Sara says

    April 11, 2013 at 2:53 am

    Thanks so much for sharing on Craft Schooling Sunday, great project my kids will love too!

    • OneMommy says

      April 11, 2013 at 12:42 pm

      Thank YOU for hosting! I hope they enjoy it as much as we did!

Trackbacks

  1. Wait! Don’t throw out that crusty play-doh! | I Choose Joy says:
    April 8, 2013 at 10:23 am

    […] Xander is fascinated by volcanoes, or “canos” as he calls them. So when I saw Just One Mommy’s post about using dried up play-doh to make volcanoes, I knew we HAD to do it! I broke out our […]

  2. 11 Fun Learning Activities with Play-Doh - Family Food And Travel says:
    October 2, 2015 at 7:20 am

    […] Make Play-Doh Volcanoesย | There’s Just One Mommy […]

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