Not So Usual Celebrations
August 24th is Vesuvius Day. Mt. Vesuvius is a now dormant volcano. It’s last eruption was in 79 A.D. on this day. The eruption killed 3,360 people in the Roman city of Pompeii. It is in the ruins of Pompeii that we have found out many things about the daily life of early Romans. Vesuvius, which stood above the city, erupted violently, with little warning. Mount Saint Helen’s gave no more warning before it erupted on May 18, 1980. Mt. St. Helen’s began with an earthquake which caused a landslide and exposed the core of lava which resulted in explosions that could be heard for miles. Forests were flattened by the pressure waves as the giant plume shot over 80,000 feet into the atmosphere for over 10 hours. Volcanoes are incredibly powerful natural phenomena which affect the way we live. The eruption of the volcano this year in Iceland stopped world air travel from Europe for several days this year. It is not wonder that Vesuvius was able to cause such destruction in 79 A.D. Vesuvius erupted for the last time in 1631 and claimed another 3,000 victims.
Activity for Kids
Help kids to make a volcano to develop a concrete understanding of what happens when a volcano erupts. To do this experiment, divide the students into small groups. You will need an empty bottle, some “dough” to sculpt the mountain, water, red food coloring, baking soda, a few drops of dish detergents, and of course vinegar to set the entire volcano into eruption. For a great set of directions check out volcano making at http://chemistry.about.com/cs/howtos/ht/buildavolcano.htm Be sure to debrief the activity and focus on the key learning.
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