How To Make a Soda Bottle Volcano

Looking for a cool science project or just something to occupy a Thursday night? If so, consider this simple project to make a soda bottle volcano at home. Just follow these steps and you’ll have an eruption within minutes.

Materials:
2 liter plastic soda bottle – full and unopened
Package of Mentos candy
Clear space outside

1. Find a location for your volcano. This project is fun yet messy so head outdoors to find the best location. Make sure you have at least five feet around the table or surface that won’t be damaged by the soda eruption.
2. Place the soda bottle on a flat surface. You can use a table or just place the bottle upright on the ground. If you’re trying this in the yard, be aware that if the ground isn’t flat the bottle could tip over and erupt sideways making a bigger mess than you intended.
3. Open the bottle. You start with an unopened bottle because you want as much carbonation as possible. Eruptions are limited if the soda has been allowed to go flat before the experiment.
4. Open the package of Mentos. Gather the entire package of candies in your hand. You may not use them all but the more you can get into the bottle before the eruption, the higher your soda lava should travel.
5. Advise the audience to step back. You may even want to take a step back yourself and hold your hand extended over the bottle.
6. Drop as many of the candies into the bottle as fast as possible. Try to get the entire package into the bottle but don’t be surprised if the eruption makes this impossible.
7. Jump back out of the way and watch the eruption. Once you get the candies in the bottle, get out of the way. Take two or three large steps back then watch out. The soda should erupt several feet into the air and the eruption should last about 30 seconds or longer.
8. Repeat with as many soda bottle as you want. This project is fun and gets any group laughing and smiling together. Consider multiple erupts to top off an otherwise boring night at home.

Making a soda bottle volcano is easy and inexpensive. You should be able to follow these instructions over and over as often as you want. Just remember to leave time to clean up afterwards since the soda will be very sticky.