Science - Volcanoes

Volcanoes are on of those wonders of nature to me, and have been since I first learned about them as a child. Below are some resources and ideas to get your children interested in the science of Geomorphology and Volcanism.



Volcano Playlist (below): A note to parents: I would watch the videos in the playlist below ahead of time so that you can anticipate some of your child's questions ahead of time and do some research to answer those questions.  Also be aware that these are not Christian videos and cover subjects such as plate techtonics (ex. pangea) as well as say things like "fifty billion years ago."  Another great time to cover Genesis with your child and explain the difference between biblical views and world views in common science.




Books on Volcanoes that you might like to purchase ahead of time to teach your student.  You can click on each of them to see on Amazon.com.


Volcano Coloring Pages:
Crayola Volcano Mini Book - Free to print
Volcano Erupting Coloring Page
Volcano Cutaway coloring page


Other Worksheet Resources:

Volcano Word Search (PDF)
Volcano Vocabulary Sheet (PDF)
Volcano Draw And Write (PDF): Draw a picture of a volcano and write about it


Learning Resources:
Volcano World: A great page geared towards kids to enjoy with your student run by Oregon State University.
Wiki Volcano Page
Volcanoes - Earth's Firey Power (National Geographic Website)
Volcanoes Hazard's Program (USGS):  This page has an interactive map where you can see where volcanoes are on the planet earth.
Volcano Science Lesson Plan
Build A Volcano Science Lesson

Volcano History:
Mt. Vesuvius and Pompeii: Discovery Channel Website
Crater Lake National Park History
Mt. St. Helens Wiki Page
Iceland Volcanoes from Science Wire
Hawaii Volcanoes from National Park Service
Lava Beds National Monument California (a great segway into a lesson about caves/lava tubes)



Volcanoes are a diverse topic that can be a gateway into studying many other geomorphology topics, such as lava tubes, rocks, plate tectonics, mountains, calderas, earthquakes, and even Bible lessons on Genesis and the wonders of God.

With so much to learn about Volcanoes you can keep coming back to this topic as your child grows and is ready to take on more and more information.


Some suggested lesson planning would be:

• Child writing report about types of volcanoes, location of volcanoes, how volcanoes are formed, history of a major volcanic eruption and how it affected nature and the people around it (or even native legends), or  plate tectonics (for older students).
• Child making paper mache volcano and painting it (art lesson)
• Child making a volcano that errupts (science lesson)
• Visiting a volcanic national park (Crater Lake, Lava Beds National Monument, Mt. Lassen, or whatever is in your area).
• Writing a fictional story about what would happen if a volcano erupted near you (or a fictional character of the writers imagining).
• Writing a haiku or other poem about a volcano forming, erupting, or waiting dormant.
• Watching videos about volcanoes (see above).
• Reading books about volcanoes (see above).
• Coloring pages of volcanoes (see above).
• Lesson plan on reading maps and drawing/coloring maps of earth and where volcanoes are located.
• Research cities and population centers in volcanic zones and how the volcanoes affect these populations and what risks there might be.

Do you know of some great volcano resources?  Did you do an awesome volcano activity or research project with your child or classroom?  Share with us in a comment below!  We'd love to hear how you teach this subject to your children and if you used any of the resources or ideas we've shared with you here!