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October 11, 2016

Pumpkin Volcano Science Activity

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This pumpkin volcano science activity was a long time coming, but it was so worth the wait. The kids loved it as much as they loved our apple volcanoes we did a few weeks ago.

Turn a classic science experiment into a fun fall activity with this pumpkin volcano. Kids will love watching as chemical react and fizz over the sides of the pumpkin.

I knew I wanted to do a pumpkin volcano with the kids this fall, so as soon as I saw pumpkins at the grocery store, I grabbed a couple. I brought them home and put them on the patio table in the backyard; no big deal right. A few hours later I went outside and found them in the yard with puppy teeth marks, so the next time I was at the grocery store I bought another pumpkin. This time I thought I had outsmarted the puppy and put them on our front porch. My husband tied him up in the front as we often to do, not even thinking about the pumpkins. I finally learned my lesson the third time and put the pumpkin on a shelf in the garage until we ready to do the pumpkin volcano.

This last weekend the weather was beautiful and the kids had friends over, so we pulled the pumpkin (that had been saved from the teeth of the puppy) out of the garage and did the pumpkin volcano activity with our kids and their friends.

Our kids have done many baking soda and vinegar science experiments. Our oldest child and his dad did a paper mache volcano a couple of years in a row when he was much younger for his class. One thing that they learned from that was to add liquid dish soap, which makes even more of a fizzy/bubbly reaction. 
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Supplies

  • Pumpkin (We used a medium sized pumpkin.)
  • Baking soda
  • Vinegar
  • Liquid dish soap
  • Under the bed storage container (optional to contain the pumpkin and fizz from the chemical reaction)

Directions

1. Ahead of time, cut the top off the pumpkin and clean the outside of the pumpkin out like you would do when preparing to crave a pumpkin.

2. Gather all your supplies and place them nearby.

3. Drop a heaping amount of baking soda into the pumpkin. We didn’t really measure the ingredients, but added about a cup of baking soda to our medium sized pumpkin.

Kids will love watching as chemicals react and fizz over the sides of this pumpkin volcano, a fun and classic science experiment with a fall twist. Fall | Halloween | Pumpkins | Science | STEM

4. Add dish soap to the baking soda. Again we did not measure. The kids squeezed a good amount into the pumpkin.

Kids will love watching as chemicals react and fizz over the sides of this pumpkin volcano, a fun and classic science experiment with a fall twist. Fall | Halloween | Pumpkins | Science | STEM

5. Pour vinegar into the pumpkin until the mixture begins to react.

Kids will love watching as chemicals react and fizz over the sides of this pumpkin volcano, a fun and classic science experiment with a fall twist. Fall | Halloween | Pumpkins | Science | STEM

You can place the lid back on the pumpkin at this point to and witness the fizz escaping through the gap between the pumpkin and the lid. 

Kids will love watching as chemicals react and fizz over the sides of this pumpkin volcano, a fun and classic science experiment with a fall twist. Fall | Halloween | Pumpkins | Science | STEM

We started off doing our pumpkin volcano with a small dish inserted in the hole of our pumpkin.

bowl-in-pumpkin

We didn’t think there would be enough of a reaction to force it out over the sides of the pumpkin with the ingredients put  into the bottom of pumpkin. The kids provided us wrong. We did the experiment though once with the bowl and then the kids took it out and poured the baking soda, dish soap, and vinegar into the bottom of the pumpkin. 

They repeated the process a few times, but I think their favorite part was playing in the fizz. It offered an unplanned sensory experience as they moved their hands and fingers through the fizz created by the reaction of baking soda, vinegar, and dish soap. 

The pumpkin volcano created a fun sensory experience as the kids moved their fingers and hands through the fizz created by the reaction. fall | Halloween | STEM | pumpkin

THE SCIENCE

When you combine baking soda and vinegar a chemical reaction occurs that releases carbon dioxide. The baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is a base while the vinegar (acetic acid) is an acid. When they react together they form carbonic acid, which breaks apart into water and carbon dioxide, and creates fizzing as it escapes. 

Kids will love watching as chemicals react and fizz over the sides of this pumpkin volcano, a fun and classic science experiment with a fall twist. Fall | Halloween | Pumpkins | Science | STEM

You Also Might Like

  • Apple Volcanoes Science Experiment
  • Fall Scavenger Hunts (free printable)
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  • 12 Fun Filled Spider Activities 
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Comments

  1. Ali B says

    October 16, 2016 at 4:26 pm

    This looks so fun! We just picked out pumpkins and I’m sure my kiddos would have a blast doing this. We love seeing safe chemical reactions. We might even add some food coloring too.

    Reply
  2. Heather says

    October 25, 2016 at 6:51 pm

    We’ve never done a volcano in a pumpkin so can’t wait to try it this weekend. Looks like fun!

    Reply
    • Kim says

      October 25, 2016 at 11:41 pm

      It was a lot of fun Heather! I hope you guys enjoy it!

      Reply
  3. Valerie says

    October 25, 2016 at 11:58 pm

    What is the purpose of the dish soap? I love this. Can you add food coloring to the vinegar without ruining it’s components . I think geen or purple fizz would look awesome. Thank you for sharing.

    Reply
    • Kim says

      October 26, 2016 at 1:07 am

      Valerie, the dish soap is for entertainment purposes only and could be omitted. The dish soap makes it more bubbly and frothy and last a little longer. I think adding green or purple would be a lot of fun. Here are a couple of examples where food coloring was added: http://parentingchaos.com/volcano-pumpkin/ and http://www.growingajeweledrose.com/2012/09/erupting-pumpkins-experiment-for-kids.html Have fun with your pumpkin volcanoes!

      Reply
  4. Lindsay says

    September 25, 2017 at 7:51 pm

    Fun! Is the pumpkin still in good enough shape to carve after the volcano experiment? Wondering if we can get two uses out of one pumpkin??

    Reply
    • Kim says

      September 25, 2017 at 9:00 pm

      Yes! Wonderful idea!

      Reply
  5. Amy says

    September 28, 2017 at 12:07 pm

    Can the pumpkin be used more than once for this experiment? I have 3 different classes.

    Reply
    • Shannon says

      October 2, 2017 at 7:20 am

      Definitely! You could just rinse the pumpkin out after each class and start fresh. Thanks for stopping by.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Spook-takular Family Fun Pumpkin Carving Party - Crafty Mama in ME! says:
    October 25, 2016 at 12:26 pm

    […] lot of other fun experiments you can choose from!  Take a look at these other fun ideas: Pumpkin Volcano, Spider Slime, and Dissolving Peeps to name just a […]

    Reply

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