The Volcano Experiment with Rocco
Rocco builds a volcano for the science fair, and the experiment goes bubbly wrong!
The school science fair was tomorrow, and Rocco had a plan: a volcano that really erupted. With Percy the pony, Rocco made a mountain from clay and painted it brown.
Inside the crater went baking soda, a squirt of soap and some purple paint. Then Rocco poured in a little vinegar. FIZZ! Bubbles climbed out of the volcano, lava-red and frothy.
‘More!’ cried Percy. Rocco poured more vinegar. And more. FIZZ-FIZZ-WHOOSH! A huge wave of purple foam spilled over the table and onto the floor. It reached Percy’s shoes!
They looked at each other, and burst out laughing. ‘Too much vinegar!’ said Rocco. They mopped up, and Rocco wrote in a notebook: ‘Use only a little. Measure carefully.’
At the fair, Rocco did the experiment again, perfectly. The foam rose slowly and spilled gently. Idris the deer clapped. ‘Excellent,’ said Idris. ‘And I love your notes on what went wrong.’
The little lesson
Mistakes are part of discovering how things work.
Let’s talk about it
- What makes a volcano fizz?
- What would you do differently?
Finish stories to collect Rocco as a sticker in your Sticker Book.
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Gia wonders where rainbows come from, and discovers how to make one at home.
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