As part of Science week, Katie and Dan delivered a fantastic workshop to help Year 3 develop an insight into the job of a volcanologist.
First we explored ‘dancing raisins’ in spring water to help us understand about bubbles in the magma chamber of a volcano. Then we investigated blowing bubbles in different liquids (water, maple syrup, golden syrup and honey) to help us understand about different types of lava. We decided that the maple syrup was similar to mafic lava found in shield volcanoes because it was runny, quick moving and low viscosity. We thought that the honey was like felsic lava found in stratovolcanoes because it was thick, slow moving and high viscosity.
We also had the chance to explore samples of obsidian, basalt and pumice which are all volcanic rocks. Finally, we discussed the positive and negative impact of volcanoes to life on Earth. We learned that whilst volcanoes can be dangerous and can cause loss of life, destruction of crops, property and livelihood, they can also create fertile new land and they allow scientists to study the inside of our planet.
We loved being volcanologists for the afternoon and maybe that will be a job for one of us in the future too!
