As part of our Volcanoes Playdatebox activities, we decided it might be fun to go on a volcano outing to see our very own volcano up close and personal. We are lucky to be in one of twelve states in the U.S. where volcanic activity is still visible. There are hundreds of volcanic formations worldwide to visit and study, but if you don’t happen to live within driving distance of a volcano, there are still a lot of fun ways to explore them with youngsters. We’ll share a few ideas here:
1. Visit a Cinder Cone or Lava Field
The dark areas you see in the background in the upper right of this photo are patches of dark lava rock. This hike, known as the Upper Galoot Trail is a favorite in Snow Canyon State Park.
Snow Canyon State Park was the location for our volcano outing. It’s an incredibly picturesque area perfect for hiking with young children. Upper Galoot features a picnic area and a larger parking lot, so on busy weekends with lots of out-of-town visitors crowding the parking areas, it’s a good place to start the day.
The kids are good at creating their own fun. Here, they are experimenting with what happens when you mix red desert sand and water.
2. Visit a Natural History Museum
Chances are you’ll find a corner of your local Dinosaur Museum or Natural History Museum that showcases volcanoes and how they form. You just may find a fascinating subject for your next Playdatebox while you are exploring!
3. Take a Virtual Field Trip via YouTube
If you live a long distance from your grandchildren, one option for older children or combined family groups might be the Virtual Field trip to Mt. St. Helens led by a live instructor. If you aren’t ready to drop the $150 fee for that experience, it may be possible for you to create your own virtual field trip by creating a catalog of YouTube videos you can watch together. Even our youngest grandchildren were fascinated by videos of lava flows on Kilauea and watching an actual eruption in Iceland. Pyroclastic flows are fearsome and fascinating as well!
4. Go Rockhounding to find Igneous Rocks Near You
If the closest you can come to touching million-year-old lava is the briquettes in your BBQ grill, don’t despair. You may be able to use your creativity to create a miniature volcanic structure of your own. Landscape supply companies and hobby stores often carry varieties of volcanic rock. You can also purchase igneous rock samples online.
Purchase a set of Igneous Rocks and learn how each is formed when a volcano erupts.
5. Make a Volcano Picnic
It turns out that kids aren’t too picky about what they learn on an outing as long as they get to take one. Maybe just reading a great book about volcanoes together as you lounge on a picnic blanket in your own backyard will be vacation enough! Make an assortment of volcano finger foods to take along with you. Check Pinterest, Instagram, and Google for “volcano snacks” and “volcano recipes” to find hundreds of clever ideas, including this one for a volcano made of grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup cascading down the sides.
If you have a great idea for teaching kids all about volcanoes in the wild, we’d love to hear about it and share it. Please let us know in the comments of other fun ways you have studied volcanic action up close and personal!