A Magma-nificent Visitor to Prep

Truro School Prep was delighted to welcome back Dr James Hickey, Senior Lecturer in Geophysics and Volcanology at the University of Exeter, to bring the topic of volcanos to life for our lucky Year 4 children.

Once again, the children were thrilled to hear his tales of life as a volcanologist as they learnt about how volcanos are made and why they explode.

The children learnt about the different types of eruptions (effusive and explosive) and how that affects the type of volcano that these eruptions form (shield or stratovolcanos )

In order to bring the process of a volcanic eruption to life, Dr Hickey added mentos to bottles of cola (the magma and conduit) to create bubbles and simulate an eruption.

The children learnt that more bubbles resulted in a bigger displacement of the cola and that by changing the size of the vent (or the cap of the bottle), they could increase the pressure and make the explosion stronger. This resulted in much mess and a huge amount of joy on the faces of all of our children.

A huge thank you to Dr Hickey for taking the time to visit us today and for creating such a memorable learning opportunity.