🧪 Science with Sarah: Play-Doh volcanoes 🌋

A classic, explosive chemical reaction

👉 Watch the video of Sarah’s science experiment at Olympia Elementary School here!

Hello parents, teachers and students! It’s a classic one: the vinegar & baking soda volcano experiment.

Be sure to check out GMSA@9 on Wednesdays when Meteorologist Sarah Spivey does the demonstrations and explains the science behind it.

Science with Sarah in partnership with the San Antonio Zoo (Copyright KSAT 2023 - All rights reserved)

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL NEED

  • Play-doh or other modeling clay
  • A pipette
  • Vinegar
  • Baking soda
  • A straw
  • Tray or plate
  • Glitter (optional)

DO THE EXPERIMENT

  • STEP 1: On top of a plate or a tray, mold a volcano shape around a straw
Mold your play-doh volcano around a straw (Copyright 2024 by KSAT - All rights reserved.)
  • STEP 2: Remove the straw from the middle of the volcano
  • STEP 3: Place a little baking soda into the mouth of your volcano. Put a little glitter in there if you’d like!
  • STEP 4: Using the pipette, pipe some vinegar into the mouth of the volcano and watch as it bubbles up and out of the volcano
Play-doh volcano "erupting" (Copyright KSAT 2024 - All rights reserved)

SCIENCE WITH SARAH

If you’d like Sarah and David to come to your school and conduct a science experiment live on KSAT, fill out this form. “Winners” are selected at random.


About the Authors

Sarah Spivey is a San Antonio native who grew up watching KSAT. She has been a proud member of the KSAT Weather Authority Team since 2017. Sarah is a Clark High School and Texas A&M University graduate. She previously worked at KTEN News. When Sarah is not busy forecasting, she enjoys hanging out with her husband and cat, and playing music.

Ben Spicer is a digital journalist who works the early morning shift for KSAT.

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