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Allows you to search locations on the globe and view satellite images

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Zoom Earth - Explore satellite and aerial images of the Earth

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Zoom into new NASA satellite and aerial images of the Earth, updated every day.

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Many of the stories were created to explain some of the odd but beautiful structures that were formed. For instance rocks that look like tree trunks are given this story. "Pele is a skilled rider of the holua, a wooden sled that slides down steep stone ramps.

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Story has it that many hundreds of years ago, Tanovo, chief of the Fijian island Ono, was very partial to a late afternoon stroll. Each day he would walk along the beach, watch the sun go down and undoubtedly contemplate this paradise on Earth.

The cultural memory was right, and our scientific surveys were wrong

But one day Tanovo's rival, chief of the volcano Nabukelevu, pushed his mountain up and blocked Tanovo's view of the sunset. Enraged at this, and robbed of the pacifying effects of his daily meditation, Tanovo wove giant coconut-fibre baskets and began to remove earth from the mountain. His rival, however, caught Tanovo and chased him away. Tanovo, in his flight, dropped earth at the islands of Dravuni and Galoa.

When geologist Patrick Nunn first heard this myth, it made sense that it described the volcanic eruption of Nabukelevu, with the associated ash falls on other islands in the Kadavu group. But his scientific investigation of the region concluded that the volcano had not erupted for 50,000 years, long before the island was first inhabited around 2000 B.C. The myth, it seemed, was simply a story-not a description of previous events.

Then, two years later, when diggers carved out a road near the base of the volcano, they uncovered pieces of ancient pottery buried underneath a metre-deep layer of volcanic ash. "This clearly demonstrated that the volcano had erupted within the last 3,000 years while humans lived here," says Nunn, a professor at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. "The cultural memory was right, and our scientific surveys were wrong."

You attribute it to supernatural forces and you say it is a battle between the giants and the gods

From prehistoric times to, more recently, the pyrotechnics of Hawaii's Kilauea, volcanic eruptions have aroused fear and inspired myths. Often cultures have seen active volcanoes as the abode of gods - typically gods quick to anger.

"I think the creation of myths is essentially the human reaction to witnessing a natural process that you cannot explain, says Haraldur Sigurdsson, a volcanologist at the University of Rhode Island, US. "So you attribute it to supernatural forces and you say it is a battle between the giants and the gods."

But deities aside, these traditional oral tales can contain valuable information about the type, and nature of volcanic eruptions, Nunn says. In particular they can contribute "missing data" to geologists about events that happened hundreds or thousands of years ago.

"After 30 years of research in the geosciences I believe that the analysis of myths is hugely important," Nunn says. "It can help bridge the gap between geological theory and human history and lead to scientific insights."
Legend has it
Shortly after research volcanologist Don Swanson moved to Hawaii in 1997, a friend, knowing Swanson's love of poetry, gave him a book of translated Hawaiian chants. One evening, as Swanson sat in an easy chair, reading the translations for pleasure, insight struck.

"This light bulb came on in my head. It didn't flash right away but it was kind of a low and then medium and then high," Swanson says. "I realised that I was potentially reading about events that I had been studying in the field, geologically, during the preceding months."

The chants told the story of Pele, Deity of the volcano Kilauea, who'd initially moved to Kauai with her relatives and fell in love with a man called Lohi'au. Kauai wasn't hot enough for Pele, however, so she settled in the crater at Kilauea on the big island of Hawaii. She then asked her sister Hi'iaka to fetch Lohi'au, giving her a time limit of 40 days.

It was a very earthy love triangle

Hi'iaka agreed on the condition that her sister kept her fires away from Hi'iaka's beloved grove of flowering trees. But when Hi'iaka arrived at Kauai, she found Lohi'au dead and, by the time she revived him, the 40 days were up.

Pele, thinking that Hi'iaka had stolen Lohi'au for herself, set the forest on fire. Hi'iaka then sought her revenge by returning to Kilauea and making love to Lohi'au in view of Pele. Pele's response was fast and furious: She killed Lohi'au and threw his body into her crater. Hi'iaka then dug furiously to recover the body sending rocks flying into the air. "It was a very earthy love triangle," Swanson says.

When Swanson read the story, his insights told him it related the two largest volcanic events that had happened on the island since people had lived there.

We were clearly wrong and we only realised this very recently

The burning forest most likely was a lava flow in the 15th century, one that lasted for 60 years and covered almost 430 square kilometres of the island of Hawaii. Hi'iaka's furious digging may have represented the dropping down of the Kilauea summit to form a caldera.

Until recently geologists had believed the caldera formed in 1790 during a period of large explosions, and the volcano was quiet in the proceeding centuries. But oral history says the caldera had existed for "many kings' reigns" before and that red-hot stones often flew into the air during this time. Only in the early 21st century did geologists find e vidence to confirm the myth's timeline.

"We were clearly wrong and we only realised this very recently," Swanson says. "It's pretty embarrassing that geologists failed to take the Pele-Hi'iaka chants into account because we hadn't believed that the chants had any real meaning."

Swanson believes that many more scientific treasures lie in the Hawaiian chants, ready for scientists to decipher.
Crowdsourcing through the millennia
Perhaps one of the oldest myths of mankind is that of Atlantis - the story about a prosperous kingdom that disappeared without trace. As the story goes, the people in this utopian civilization enraged the gods so much with their moral corruption that the deities sent one terrible night of fire and earthquakes. These catastrophes sank Atlantis into the ocean, never to be found.

The ancient Greek philosopher Plato told this moral tale in his dialogues, Critias and Timaeus, and for centuries scholars have debated whether those events were true, or invented, and what the location of Atlantis might have been.

One incident that bears a striking similarity to the story was the massive volcanic eruption of the island of Santorini in the Aegean Sea near Greece about 3,600 years ago. The highly advanced civilization of Minoans who lived on the island disappeared about the same time. The eruption itself inspired the Greek poet Hesiod to write the poem Theogony in around 700 B.C., which described the battle of giants and gods on Mount Olympus.

Here was a myth that supported what archeologists found

"I started to become interested in the myth of Atlantis and the poem Theogony because these are our only written or only documented descriptions or interpretations of this huge volcanic phenomenon," Sigurdsson says. "We don't have any other accounts so, if you accept that they are related to this event, then they do give you some information that you otherwise wouldn't have."

Several studies support the theory that the volcanic disaster of Plato's story of Atlantis relates to the Santorini eruption. "And once archeologists began to dig on Santorini they looked to the legend as a form of validation of what they were finding," says John Dvorak, a geoscientist at the University of Hawaii, US.

"One of the things you always look for in science is supportive evidence and consistency," Dvorak says. "And here was a myth that supported what archeologists found. The timing was right and it looks to be consistent."

Myths such as these have helped scientists understand some very large past events, Sigurdsson says. One such large event was the eruption of Kuwae in 1453, a volcano in the islands of Vanuatu in the Southwest Pacific. This proved to be one of the largest eruptions anywhere on Earth within the last 10,000 years and was so big it simply sank the island into the sea.

We can't afford to dismiss any source of information about past events

Piecing together the details of an eruption from the geological record can be tricky, Nunn says. Geologists analyse the lava, sediments and other debris that came from the volcano to determine what happened - material that's become changed, reworked and redeposited over time.

"You're trying to piece together the whole event from those isolated bits of information and it involves a huge amount of assumptions," Nunn says. "But a lot of the old histories and myths that talk about volcanic eruptions do actually give us insight into the sequencing."

The Kuwae myths also talk about events leading up to the eruption. In this way, they provide valuable information on how to recognise the precursors of such eruptions, Nunn says. The oral traditions talk about sorcerers digging holes and hot water soaring out, unusual noises from the crater and the exodus of tigers, monkeys and rabbits into the villages before the final eruption.

On the island of Savo in the Solomon Islands, which witnesses a major eruption every 110 years or so, oral traditions relate the filling of the crater with water, local earthquakes and tsunamis and the die-back of vegetation as the lead up to an explosion. From these tales the modern island inhabitants know the warning signs of an eruption and can respond optimally, Nunn says.

"I think that we can't afford to dismiss any source of information about past events," Nunn says. "But it's taken science a long time to wake up to the value of these kinds of traditions."
Creating meaning from mayhem
Early attempts to explain volcanic activity sound much like myths to modern day scientists. The ancient Greeks believed volcanoes came from the release of compressed air inside mountains, much like a monstrous belch. The Romans took a more engineering approach in their explanations: they blamed eruptions on chemical reactions and underground compounds catching fire.

"They were trying to attribute what they saw to natural processes rather than to extraterrestrial or godly activity," Sigurdsson says. "They were moving away from myths and moving toward realism."

Over the centuries the ideas became more sophisticated, although the theories did take a backward turn with the rise of Christian conceptions of Hell.

The physicist Sir Isaac Newton, most famous for his cosmological and gravitational studies, also practiced alchemy in a shed behind his laboratory. He showed that combining iron and sulphur lead to the release of a lot of heat. This reaction, Newton said, was the origin of volcanic activity.

Myths and rituals help people cope with disaster

"That was the same theory the Romans had put forth about a thousand years before," Sigurdsson says.
Finally, 19th and 20th-century research in thermodynamics, petrology, geochemistry and plate tectonics moved volcanology from "divine science" and "armchair geology" to the current understanding of volcanic activity. "I think we have a pretty comprehensive working hypothesis now and it's stood the test of time," Sigurdsson says.

But volcanologists still can't tell when a volcano is going to erupt, and for how long, and what is going to happen when it does, Dvorak says. What volcanologists can give you are some probabilities.

"It might erupt. This may or may not happen. This is more likely than that," he says.

Dvorak was present at eruptions in Indonesia and Mount St. Helens and heard some members of the public say, "What's the use?"

And myths, and the belief in divine retribution, still prevail. After the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in the US, two local Christian priests announced that the volcano had erupted because people had not been charitable enough and were not taking proper care of their families. "Even in the most highly technical society, people are still trying to grasp meaning in that way," Dvorak says.

So while science can't provide all the answers, maybe people still need myths to make sense of the senseless and to claw some meaning from the mayhem. Maybe myths provide a valuable tool for coming to terms with destruction and disaster, or living under a constant umbrella of uncertainty.

So even in this age of advanced science and technology, myths still have their place.

Myths can provide meaning and the rituals they inspire can provide comfort and a sense of security, Dvorak says. "Myths and rituals help people cope with disaster, albeit in a very different way."

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Why ancient myths about volcanoes are often true

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Story has it that many hundreds of years ago, Tanovo, chief of the Fijian island Ono, was very partial to a late afternoon stroll. Each day he would walk along the beach, watch the sun go down and undoubtedly contemplate this paradise on Earth.

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Volcanic features and phenomena have often been described in legends. These legends provide a connection between a cultural or spiritual view of nature and the scientific study of Earth's natural processes. Careful study of these legends may even yield faint clues about ancient eruptions.

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Pele the Fire Goddess - Pronounced peh-leh or pel-lə - is one of the most well known and revered in Hawaiian mythology. As a sign of respect you may hear her referred to as Madame Pele or Tutu Pele.

She is a goddess of fire, lightning, dance, wind, volcanoes and violence. Her poetic name is Ka wahine `ai honua or the woman who devours the land. She is both a creator and destroyer. She throws molten fountains into the air and governs the great flows of lava. With her power over the volcanoes, she created the Hawaiian Islands and to this day, she has been known to reveal herself throughout the beautiful islands she crafted herself.

No Kahiki mai ka wahine `o Pele,
Mai ka `aina mai o Polapola,
Mai ka punohu a Kane,
Mai ke ao lapa i ka lani.

Translation:
The woman Pele comes from Kahiki,
From the land of Polapola,
From the rising mist of Kane,
From the clouds that move in the sky.

According to legend, Pele lives in one of the most active volcanoes in the world. She calls the summit of Kilauea volcano, in Halemaʻumaʻu crater home. Although, her reach is throughout Hawaii nei.

The Hawaiian (Polynesian) goddess of the volcano, she was born in Honua-Mea, part of Tahiti. One of a family of six daughters and seven sons born to Haumea (a very ancient Earth goddess) and Kane Milohai (creator of the sky, earth and upper heavens).

There are a number of variations in the legends that tell of how Pele first came to the Hawaiian Islands. One of the most common relates that she was exiled by her father because of her temper. The final straw being a fighting with her elder water-goddess sister Na-maka-o-Kaha'i, whose husband Pele had seduced.

Pele's oldest brother, the king of the sharks, Kamohoali'i, gave her a great canoe, upon which she and her brothers traveled far from home, over the wide expanse of the seas, sailing on this great canoe eventually to find Hawaii.

All the while, Pele battles with her sister Namakaokahai who is a Sea Goddess. During this perilous journey she carried her favorite little sister, Hi'iaka (or Hi'iaka i ka poli o Pele - Hi'iaka in the bosom of Pele) in egg-form all the way to the Hawaiian islands. That makes Hi'iaka the first God of the Pele family to be born in Hawaii.

When Pele got to Hawaii, she first used her Pa'oa, or o'o stick on Kauai - striking deep into the earth but she was attacked by her older sister and left for dead. She was able to recover and flee to Oahu, where she dug several "fire pits," including the crater we now called Diamond Head, in Honolulu. After that, she left her mark on the island of Molokai before traveling further southeast to Maui and creating the Haleakala Volcano.

By then her older sister Namakaokahai, realized Pele was still alive and she went to Maui to do battle. Finally, the epic battle ended near Hana, Maui, where Pele was torn apart by her sister. Legend says her bones remain as a hill called Ka-iwi-o-Pele.

Upon death, she became a god and found a home on Mauna Loa, on the Island of Hawai'i. There she dug her final and eternal fire pit, Halemaumau Crater, at the summit of Kilauea Volcano. Known as the Navel of the World, Ka Piko o ka Honua - were the gods began creation. She is said to live there to this day and is thought to be very happy there.

Related Blog Post: Sightings of the Hawaiian Volcano Goddess

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Pele, Hawaii Goddess of Fire: Hawaiian Legend ⋆ Mythical Realm

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Pele the Fire Goddess - Pronounced peh-leh or pel-lə - is one of the most well known and revered in Hawaiian mythology. As a sign of respect you may hear her referred to as Madame Pele or Tutu Pele. She is a goddess of fire, lightning, dance, wind, volcanoes and violence.

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Shows different types of boundaries around the world and how that impacts volcanic activity

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Worksheet for Earth Science: Volcanoes movie

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Worksheet for Earth Science: Volcanoes movie

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Mount St. Helens: Before and After

When Mount St. Helens erupted on May 18, 1980, the top 400 meters (1,300 feet) of the volcano disappeared within minutes. The blast area covered more than 390 square kilometers (150 square miles) and sent thousands of tons of ash into the upper atmosphere. The collection of still images and video featured in this resource produced for Teachers' Domain depict before-and-after scenes of Mount St. Helens and its surroundings, allowing you to witness the volcano's evolving eruption column, and revealing the extent of environmental recovery 20 years later.

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When Mount St. Helens erupted on May 18, 1980, the top 400 meters (1,300 feet) of the volcano disappeared within minutes. The blast area covered more than 390 square kilometers (150 square miles) and sent thousands of tons of ash into the upper atmosphere.

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Plate Tectonics: The Hawaiian Archipelago

Given that all of the Hawaiian Islands were created by volcanic activity, it is somewhat surprising that only one of the islands possesses any active volcanoes. Why did the volcanoes that built the other islands stop erupting and why are those on the big island still active? This video segment adapted from NOVA describes the role of a relatively rare phenomenon, known as a hot spot, in the formation of these majestic islands. This video is available in both English and Spanish audio, along with corresponding closed captions.

Visit the program page here.

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Plate Tectonics: The Hawaiian Archipelago

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Given that all of the Hawaiian Islands were created by volcanic activity, it is somewhat surprising that only one of the islands possesses any active volcanoes. Why did the volcanoes that built the other islands stop erupting and why are those on the big island still active?

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NOVA | Forecasting Volcanic Eruptions

In the past 300 years, volcanic eruptions, most of them unexpected, have killed more than 250,000 people. In 2000, experts estimated that 500 million people were living in areas at risk from catastrophic volcanic eruptions. This media-rich essay from NOVA Online describes the strides scientists have made in eruption forecasting in recent years and explores why accurately predicting volcanic events remains difficult.

For more information visit .

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In the past 300 years, volcanic eruptions, most of them unexpected, have killed more than 250,000 people. In 2000, experts estimated that 500 million people were living in areas at risk from catastrophic volcanic eruptions. This media-rich essay from NOVA Online describes the strides scientists have made in eruption forecasting in recent years and explores why accurately predicting volcanic events remains difficult.

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Mount Pinatubo: The Aftermath of a Volcanic Eruption

The eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991 was the largest volcanic eruption in 80 years. The explosive eruption deposited tons of ash on the towns and villages near the volcano's base. Even more devastating than the eruption, however, were the devastating flows of water and debris that resulted when monsoon rains mixed with the accumulated volcanic ash. This video segment adapted from NOVA shows the impact of these events on the communities surrounding the volcano.

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Mount Pinatubo: The Aftermath of a Volcanic Eruption

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The eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991 was the largest volcanic eruption in 80 years. The explosive eruption deposited tons of ash on the towns and villages near the volcano's base. Even more devastating than the eruption, however, were the devastating flows of water and debris that resulted when monsoon rains mixed with the accumulated volcanic ash.

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Mount Pinatubo: Predicting a Volcanic Eruption

No two volcanic eruptions happen in exactly the same way. Volcanoes are inherently unpredictable. Even so, scientists have learned to read the many signs volcanoes give off prior to an eruption in the hope of minimizing damage to lives and personal property. This video segment adapted from NOVA describes the race to read the signs presented by Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines, just before it unleashed one of the most powerful eruptions of the 20th century.

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Mount Pinatubo: Predicting a Volcanic Eruption

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No two volcanic eruptions happen in exactly the same way. Volcanoes are inherently unpredictable. Even so, scientists have learned to read the many signs volcanoes give off prior to an eruption in the hope of minimizing damage to lives and personal property.

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Lava Sampling on Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii

In this video segment adapted from NOVA, watch as scientists collaborate to collect and then chemically analyze samples of molten lava as part of their quest to learn more about how volcanoes work. By collecting samples of lava before it has a chance to cool, researchers can study the chemical properties it had when it was deep within Earth's interior, just before it was forced to the surface. Questions such as whether two volcanoes share a common magma source can be answered through such analyses.

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Lava Sampling on Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii

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In this video segment adapted from NOVA, watch as scientists collaborate to collect and then chemically analyze samples of molten lava as part of their quest to learn more about how volcanoes work.

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Virtual Lava Tube

Lava tubes are cave formations found where volcanoes generate surface flows in the western United States, Japan, Italy, Australia, Pacific Ocean islands, and other areas. They vary in size and complexity, from short, straight formations to multi-leveled labyrinths that extend for miles. The largest and most extensive lava tubes discovered to date are in Hawaiʻi, where lava flows can travel more than 80 kilometers (50 miles) from their source. This interactive activity, adapted from The Virtual Lava Tube, by Dave Bunnell, offers a visual tour of lava tubes and their many features.

This media asset was adapted from The Virtual Lava Tube by Dave Bunnell.

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Lava tubes are cave formations found where volcanoes generate surface flows in the western United States, Japan, Italy, Australia, Pacific Ocean islands, and other areas. They vary in size and complexity, from short, straight formations to multi-leveled labyrinths that extend for miles.

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Anatomy of a Volcano

Volcanoes repeatedly remind people of Earth's potential for violence. Since 1700, volcanic eruptions have killed more than 250,000 people and devastated scores of communities. What causes these dramatic geologic displays? This interactive activity from NOVA provides a detailed look at the inner workings of one of the world's most dangerous volcanoes, Nyiragongo in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This resource is part of the NOVA Collection.

This interactive activity requires Adobe Flash Player.

Visit the program page .

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Volcanoes repeatedly remind people of Earth's potential for violence. Since 1700, volcanic eruptions have killed more than 250,000 people and devastated scores of communities. What causes these dramatic geologic displays? This interactive activity from NOVA provides a detailed look at the inner workings of one of the world's most dangerous volcanoes, Nyiragongo in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

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Volcanic Features

Most people will never see the eruption of an active volcano. Even so, evidence of these dramatic displays can be found all over the world. In fact, more can be learned about some aspects of volcanic activity by exploring evidence left by past eruptions than by watching an eruption in progress. This interactive resource adapted from the National Park Service explores eight volcanic features and describes how they form.

This media asset was adapted from Views of the National Parks: Volcanism Knowledge Center by the National Park Service.

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Most people will never see the eruption of an active volcano. Even so, evidence of these dramatic displays can be found all over the world. In fact, more can be learned about some aspects of volcanic activity by exploring evidence left by past eruptions than by watching an eruption in progress.

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Volcanic Eruptions and Hazards

Volcanic eruptions can drastically alter the geography of a region. Hot, liquid lava flowing downslope can force people living near volcanoes to flee their homes. Even more dangerous, however, are pyroclastic flows and lahars, in which volcanic rock fragments travel in fast-moving clouds and mudslides. This interactive resource adapted from the National Park Service explains why eruptions are explosive or effusive and details the many hazards associated with each type.

This media asset was adapted from Views of the National Parks: Volcanism Knowledge Center by the National Park Service.

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Volcanic eruptions can drastically alter the geography of a region. Hot, liquid lava flowing downslope can force people living near volcanoes to flee their homes. Even more dangerous, however, are pyroclastic flows and lahars, in which volcanic rock fragments travel in fast-moving clouds and mudslides.

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Mountain Maker, Earth Shaker

In this activity, explore three kinds of boundaries where tectonic plates meet: divergent, where two plates spread apart; convergent, where two plate push against each other; and transform, where two plates slide past each other.

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In this activity, explore three kinds of boundaries where tectonic plates meet: divergent, where two plates spread apart; convergent, where two plate push against each other; and transform, where two plates slide past each other.

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Volcanism

Volcanoes provide spectacular evidence that we are living on a dynamic planet, where land can be created or destroyed without regard to human structures or civilizations. This interactive resource adapted from the National Park Service provides an introduction to the wonderful diversity of volcanoes, describing how they form and explaining the great variation in their size and shape and in the processes that created them.

This media asset was adapted from Views of the National Parks: Volcanism Knowledge Center by the National Park Service.

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Volcanoes provide spectacular evidence that we are living on a dynamic planet, where land can be created or destroyed without regard to human structures or civilizations. This interactive resource adapted from the National Park Service provides an introduction to the wonderful diversity of volcanoes, describing how they form and explaining the great variation in their size and shape and in the processes that created them.

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NASA Website Independent Lesson

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Plate Tectonics and the Hawaiian Hot Spot

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Plate Tectonics and the Hawaiian Hot Spot

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Plate Tectonics and the Hawaiian Hot Spot

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The Hawaiian Islands formed as the Pacific Plate moved above the Hawaiian Hot Spot.

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Interactive map showing volcanic activity

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Volcanic Hazards | Lava Flows, Lahars, Gases, Pyroclastics

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Descriptions and photos of volcanic hazards including lava flows, lahars, gases, pyroclastic flows and pyroclastic falls.

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Build A Volcano

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World for Learning uses affiliate links, see our policies for more information.
Even though most of the the story of A Journey to the Center of the Earth takes place under the earth's crust, we can't forget the one impressive land formation that gives the characters access to this underground world (and helps them make their way back out) - the volcano. Here are a few simple steps to help your family make your own volcano at home.

Many years ago we bought a Volcanoes Kid Kit and it is probably one of the most used items in our homeschool closet of supplies. We have used it to study science, geography and history, and when we read A Journey to the Center of the Earth we used it to supplement our literature lessons as well.

I have to admit that I love the kit, and I think it is totally worth the investment because it has held up extremely well for more than 7 years of homeschooling and countless "eruptions". The best part of the kit is the vinyl volcano model. Many of my friends are very crafty and have made volcanoes out of paper mache, but I am not that talented (or patient).

If you can't find a Volcanoes Kid Kit here is an easy way to make your own volcano:

Supplies

Empty plastic or glass 8 oz. salad dressing bottle (throw away the lid and remove any other plastic around the mouth of the bottle so you have a 1 inch opening at the top of the bottle)

Vinegar (white or apple cider)

Baking soda

Liquid dishwashing soap

A small square of tissue

Food coloring (optional)

Something to make the volcano - you can shape construction paper, paper bags or paper mache around the bottle.

Directions

The opening of the bottle will be the "crater" where the "lava" will come out, so fit the paper (or whatever material you use to make the volcano) around the bottle and make sure the paper doesn't come above the top of the bottle.

Set your volcano in the middle of a large baking pan, dish, or tray or in the sink.

Pour 1/2 cup of vinegar into the salad dressing bottle.

Add a few drops of food coloring (optional) to the bottle.

Add about 2-3 Tbs. of liquid dish soap to the bottle.

Put a heaping teaspoon of baking soda in the middle of a square of tissue. Roll it up and twist the ends.

Drop the twisted tissue into the bottle. Wait a few minutes and your volcano will erupt!

Don't forget to have some kind of little plastic figures on hand to help re-create a scene from the story. My kids like to use Lego mini-figures.

Be sure to take lots of photos and include them in the Memory Book included in the World Study Guide for A Journey to the Center of the Earth.

Enjoy!

The following two tabs change content below.

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Make Your Own Volcano Activity - World For Learning

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World for Learning uses affiliate links, see our policies for more information. Even though most of the the story of A Journey to the Center of the Earth takes place under the earth's crust, we can't forget the one impressive land formation that gives the characters access to this underground world (and helps them make their way back out) - the volcano.

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Link to Volcanoes video on Discovery Education
You will complete the 2 page worksheet addressing critical points of volcano science.

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Copyright © 2018 Discovery Education. All rights reserved. Discovery Education is a subsidiary of Discovery Communications, LLC.