"I don't know, where ima gonna go when..."

Well I neglected to mention how the volcano turned out.

This project thought I have to admit wasn't 100% crafted by her and I, but the whole making of it was fun.

The kit similar to the one pictured below had a mold and stand. Then we had to mix this cement like compound, if I recall it was plaster of paris. We had to allow it to dry for more than 24 hours after we poured it. Then she painted it and my wife creatively added coconut as grass around the base, dyed green.


We did several dry runs as we were debating whether to use vinegar, club soda and baking soda or diet soda and Menthos.


The kit did come with small tablets of baking soda colored with red dye - but in our independent tests did not fizz much.

She brought the set to school and she did a run for the students and teachers before that night, when the parents were to observe. Well she came that afternoon a little upset because somehow the inner container had a hole and when she poured in the club soda in and added the tablets it leaked all out the bottom weakening the structure of the plaster and nearly destroyed other kids projects on the table.


So I arrived a little that night in preparation to remedy this disaster.

I inserted some tin foil into the mouth after forming a make-shift funnel that would collect the soda and she could add the baking soda at will. This worked out okay if fizzed and spilled over into a shallow dish pan we brought.


I am sure it was no where near the explosion I was hoping to achieve like on the Brady Bunch episode, but it was a big hit with the kids and the teachers.


To make a child happy saving the day is a small parentla victory.

Today's activity: Volcanic

My youngest has a project due at the end of this week and its content reminds me of an old Brady Bunch episode when they built a demo-Volcano.

She of course will need to enlist my help in building her a working volcano. (Baking soda comes to mind)



Oddly enough by in 1988, when visiting Japan my Uncle took me around Kyushu we stopped and climbed part of the base of Mount Sakurajima (pictured left) near Kagoshima and another time we traveled quite far near Nagasaki to Mount Uzen and climbed it, at the top we couldn't really see the surrounding cities or town because of a errie fog that was either the weather or the steam emitted from the mountaint top.

There was this small pond at the top of the mountain that was bubbling and smelt of sulfer gas. My sister and I built some type of circular rock formation that we'd seen left near the top. We weren't sure what it was all about, but thought it was ritualistic to whoever comes up here makes one out of the small volcanic rocks.

Later we learned in 1991, there were fourty-odd people who died in an erruption from this mountain including volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft (pictured below) and Harry Glicken.(go figure), they died from a pyrocastic cloud consuming them I presume.


Gives you a creepy feeling to say you were there and to know people died up there and it could have very well been you.


Going to do a little web research as in how to make a safe volcanic that she can demonstrate for her science class students.


I think I will try using this link and a few others:
http://www.ehow.com/how_7938_make-volcano.html

Snow bound and after the Holiday Blues

I know these video clips don't have anything to do with the whole exchange student event, but they were both moving - which typically I show little to no expression when I see a good flick that causes people to have their eyes wet, but these two clips somehow seemed to carve their niche into my heart and wanted to share with those who can stand watching them.