When molten rock (magma) is underground it often has lots of gases dissolved in it, just like liquid coke is full of dissolved carbon dioxide gas. As magma rises closer to the surface the gas starts to escape (exsolves) from the magma, but what happens then?

In this experiment you can use coke to represent magma under a volcano and see what happens when all the dissolved gas is released!

Download the instructions and information sheet

About the Session 

This set of activities covers and expands on the Year 3 national curriculum unit "light", using objects from the Whipple Museum to explore:

Shadows (sundials)

Microscopes

Telescopes 

Reflection and refraction

Transparent, translucent and opaque 

Duration: Can be booked as: 

One or more museum-led online sessions (up to an hour in total length) and a loans box of equipment for groups of up to six 

or

To make your zine you will need:

  • a sheet of paper
  • coloured pencils or pens
  • coloured paper
  • some glue
  • fossils, rocks, pebbles for inspiration

 

Download the zine folding instructions and watch the video below

How does burning fossil fuels threaten Antarctic marine life?

This experiment demonstrates the link between increasing carbon dioxide levels and ocean acidification and freshening oceans. Freshwater and more acidic water in the oceans make life harder for Antarctica’s marine animals.

The experiment and video were made by Nick Barrett. Nick is a PhD student at the University of Cambridge Earth Science Department and The British Antarctic Survey investigating the resistance of Antarctic marine species to predicted freshening and lower salinity in the Southern Ocean.

Volcanoes form when hot molten rock (magma) under the ground erupts at the surface, but what causes the molten rock to erupt? Eruptions are often driven by gases escaping…

In this experiment you can start a chemical reaction that creates a gas, and see how the gas escaping drives an eruption.

This experiment and video was devised by the Volcano Seismology group in the Earth Science Department, University of Cambridge.

There are many different types of volcanoes. Shield volcanoes have a broad rounded shape and gentle splattery eruptions often described as fire fountains. Strato volcanoes are sharp and steep sided and have violent explosive eruptions. But what makes these two types of volcano look and erupt so differently? It is mainly controlled by how think (viscous) or runny the magma in the volcano is...

In this experiment you can use 3 different thickness (viscosity) liquids to see what differences runny or thick magma can cause in volcanoes.

Join artist Kaitlin Ferguson as she looks at a globe with animals on it, from the Whipple Museum. Learn how to make your own globe at home and imagine what animal you would be.

Find a new use for used plastic bottles, scrap paper and paperclips.

Watch this film to find out how to create a sculpture of an animal using materials from inside your home.

The Whipple Museum has a large collection of globes from different times and places. Some of them are of the Earth, like this one which you can colour in - what countries can you see on it? Other globes in the collection are of the moon, different planets or the night sky with all the stars.

The history of science relies on lots of amazing people - we've chosen three who are closely linked to our collections, but there are loads of great stories to discover. Have a look at our examples and create your own posters about scientists who interest you.

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