Erupting Volcano Science Experiment

🌋 Ultimate Erupting Volcano Science Experiment (with Catch Tray)

Bring the classic baking soda and vinegar volcano experiment to life with this beautifully designed, reusable 3D-printed volcano! Perfect for kids' science projects, STEM classroom demonstrations, or just a fun, messy weekend activity.

I designed this model to solve the biggest problem with the classic volcano experiment: the mess. It features a beautifully textured mountain design with a built-in moat to keep your tables clean.

✨ Key Features

• Smart, Material-Saving Design: Modeled with a precise 1.2mm shell, meaning it prints practically hollow with very little infill required. It only uses ~110g of filament and prints in about 4 hours!
• Optimized Crater: Features a 35mm x 100mm cavity (~100ml) to hold the ideal ratio of eruption ingredients without wasting supplies. The narrow and deep design helps force the eruption upwards for a more dramatic effect!
• Mess-Free Catch Tray: Designed with an integrated ~200mm diameter tray at the base to contain the "lava" flow, making cleanup an absolute breeze.
• Dynamic Lava Flow: The ridges and flowing slopes of the volcano are specifically modeled to make the foam cascade realistically down the sides.
• Reusable: No more messy paper mache! Just rinse it out in the sink and you are ready for the next eruption.

🧪 The Perfect "Lava" Recipe

(Optimized specifically for this 35mm x 100mm cavity)
 

Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoons (~30g) Baking Soda (Sodium Bicarbonate)
• 1 Teaspoon Dish Soap (This is the secret ingredient! It traps the gas to make the lava thick, foamy, and slow-moving)
• 3-4 drops Red Food Coloring (add 1 drop of yellow for a fiery orange tint)
• 60ml (¼ cup) White Vinegar

Eruption Instructions:

1. Prep: Place your 3D-printed volcano on a flat, stable surface. The 200mm tray will catch the lava, but you can place a towel or another tray underneath just to be extra safe.
2. Load the dry ingredients: Scoop the baking soda directly into the 35mm opening at the top of the volcano.
3. Add the effects: Squirt the dish soap and drop the food coloring directly onto the baking soda.
4. Mix (Optional but Recommended): Use the handle of a spoon or a thin wooden stir stick to gently mix the baking soda, dish soap, and food coloring together at the bottom of the 100mm deep crater. This helps ensure a more vibrant, evenly colored lava right from the start!
5. ERUPTION TIME: When you are ready for the show, quickly pour the 60ml of white vinegar into the crater.
6. Watch: Stand back and watch the foamy, chemical reaction bubble up and flow down the mountainside into the catch tray!
7. Clean up: Simply dump the tray into the sink and rinse the whole model under warm water.

🖨️ Recommended Print Settings

• Material: PETG (Recommended for better water/chemical resistance and durability, prints in ~4 hours), but standard PLA works perfectly fine too!
• Print Time / Weight: ~4 Hours / ~110g
• Wall Loops (Perimeters): 3 walls (assuming a 0.4mm nozzle). This perfectly matches the 1.2mm modeled shell and ensures the cavity is watertight so vinegar doesn't leak into the model.
• Top/Bottom Shells: 4 to 5 layers.
• Infill: 25% (Gyroid recommended). Because of the 1.2mm shell design, it prints mostly hollow, saving you a ton of filament!
• Supports: None! The internal cavity and external slopes are designed to print completely support-free.
• Layer Height: 0.20mm or 0.28mm (The flowing organic shapes look great even at larger layer heights, which helps keep that print time down).

Happy Printing and Happy Experimenting! Let me know in the comments how your eruptions turn out, and please share photos of your colorful lava!