How To Make A Snow Volcano- A Winter Science Experiment
This snow volcano activity is a simple and fun way to combine outdoor winter play with science. It is a great hands-on activity for kids of all ages and is a perfect winter winter science experiment for kids!
I love finding fun winter activities to do with my kids. Sometimes the winter months can feel long so this colorful science experiment was just what we needed to pass some time on a really cold stretch of winter days! We also love making snow ice sculptures and a sweet vanilla snow ice cream treat if you are looking for some other activities to pass time on snowy days!
I love that this science experiment can be done outside or indoors when it is too cold, making it a great choice for a snow day, outdoor winter play after a snow storm or as a great indoor activity for kids when its really cold outside. It is incredibly easy to set up and clean up is quick too which makes it a win in our house.
This science experiment is so much fun and a great way to teach kids about chemical reactions and talk about the process of active volcanoes. You can explain how the baking soda + vinegar reaction creates carbon dioxide gas, causing the foamy explosion. This would be an awesome science experiment to pair with our snowstorm in a jar experiment for a winter unit in school.
If you have a little scientist in your life I highly recommend this activity. My 3 boys loved watching their volcano explode and my 5 year old (while belly laughing when the volcano was erupting) said “this is the best!”.
Materials Needed
- Snow (if you aren’t in a region that gets snow you could also make this fake snow)
- Small plastic cup
- White vinegar
- Different colors of food coloring
- Baking soda
- Dish soap (we used Dawn dish soap)
- Spoon
- Baking sheet (if doing this indoors)
How To Make Your Snow Volcano
Collect your snow and build it into a volcano shape- if you are doing this snow volcano experiment indoors I’d recommend doing this on a baking sheet to contain the fun
Pour 3 tablespoons of baking soda into your small plastic cup
Then add 1 tablespoon of dish soap to create an extra foamy eruption
Drop 1-2 drops of food coloring into the cup and then mix all 3 ingredients well- this will be a drier mix
Put the cup in the middle of the volcano, it should go in fairly easily but if it doesn’t you may need to dig out a little snow to get it to fit in
Slowly pour vinegar into the cup and watch as your snow volcano erupts!
Other Fun Variations To Try
Rainbow Volcano- create multiple volcano eruptions in your volcano by taking the cup out carefully after your initial eruption, cleaning it out and repeating the steps with a different color of food coloring
Super Sized Blast- Try adding more baking soda and dish soap for extra frothy bubbles (which was my child’s favorite part)
Backyard Fun- Create multiple volcanos across your backyard and let them all erupt in different colors- this is a fun idea if you have a lot of kids doing this experiment so that each child can make their own volcanoes
Teaching Opportunities
Encourage your child to try different variations of baking soda and vinegar to see how the chemical reactions change
Create color mixing opportunities by adding different colors to your dish soap and baking soda mixture
Explain the baking soda (a base) + vinegar (an acid) reaction in simple terms to your child before the experiment and then have them see how this applied when they create their volcano
Highlight how the fizzing is due to the release of carbon dioxide gas- just like real volcanos produce gas before they erupt!
Other Snow Activities For Kids
Have you tried making a snow volcano? If so we would love to see your creations on Instagram or Facebook!
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