Volcanoes in the Classroom

The 6th grade just wrapped up their volcano unit. They learned about different types of volcanoes and their parts, where they are located, what type of eruptions occur, dangers and advantages of living by active volcanoes, and how they create different rocks and formations.

Students looked at different types of igneous rocks, tested different fluid viscosity to see how different lavas might flow, and then built their own shield volcano and tested off different batches of “magma.” They determined the speed of flow, what minerals make the lava flow slower, and how those different flows cool into different rocks. The students also learned about historic volcanoes and ones we still might want to be concerned about. It was a lot of fun!