As part of the topic, ‘It’s a Disaster!’, the P7 children learned about the different types of volcanoes; shield volcanoes, strato volcanoes and cinder cones. They learned that the shape of the volcano is determined by how thick (viscous) or runny the magma is.
They used water, honey and treacle to explore the different lava consistencies and started by blowing bubbles into each of the liquids to see how easy or difficult it was for gas to escape. They learned that it is much more difficult for gas to escape from thick viscous magma than runny magma. Then they poured each of the liquids down a sloped tile to simulate the flow of lava from the volcano and timed how long each liquid took to reach the bottom. This helped the children understand that volcanoes with runny lava create broad shallow volcanoes whereas volcanoes with thick lava quickly build up steep sides.
They looked at how gas escapes during volcanic eruptions by creating mini volcanoes using vinegar and bicarbonate of soda and coke and mentos.
The children also learned about how earthquakes are measured and created their own seismometers. They tested their creations by shaking the table to replicate an earthquake.
Everyone had great fun and learned lots of new things! Well done P7!
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