Lemon Volcano Experiment
Our lemon volcano experiment is the ultimate food craft! With just a few simple supplies you likely have on hand, you can turn an ordinary lemon into a fizzy, colorful eruption—and learn a little food science while you’re at it!
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If you love colorful food crafts and experiments, be sure to also check out our painted toast, egg yolk paint, melted crayon art and avocado boats, to name a new!
Why We Love this Activity
- Manageable mess—No crazy explosion here, just some fizz and color. Nothing a quick wipe can’t handle!
- Colorful– It just takes a little food coloring or washable paint to get a vibrant, colorful eruption!
- Educational– Best of all, it’s a fun way to explore acid-base reactions right at home!
- All ages – With some help from their grown-up, this lemon volcano experiment is fun for kids of all ages.
🔬 The Science Behind a Lemon Volcano
The science behind this experiment lies in a classic acid-base reaction. When the citric acid in lemon juice interacts with baking soda, it produces carbon dioxide gas—resulting in all those fun bubbles and fizzing action!
To make our experiment even messier and more exciting, we added a splash of washable paint and a drop of dish soap. Why stop at simple bubbles when you can create lifelike, foamy red “lava” erupting from your homemade volcano? I had a hunch my kids would love that dramatic effect, and I wasn’t wrong!
🍋 Materials
Notes on materials. As a reminder, a full list of supplies and their quantities is provided in the “how-to card” below.
Lemon- Medium or large! Check out our tips for juicing a lemon in the absence of a juicer.
Dish soap– This adds extra bubbles during the eruption and the paint will give your lemon volcano its colorful “lava!”
Paint– To add color to your “lava!” We like washable Crayola paint because it’s easier to cleanup.
Baking soda– This creates the eruption and is absolutely crucial!
💛 How to Make a Lemon Volcano
Step 1: Slice a thin later off the bottom of a lemon.
Step 2: Slice lemon in half.
Step 3: Use a fork to gently stab and carve into exposed side of halved lemon with flat bottom.
Step 4: Juice other half of lemon.
Step 5: Add dish soap, followed by paint and baking soda to the halved lemon.
Step 6: Pour lemon juice onto halved lemon and watch it erupt!
✔️Tips and Tricks
- Adults can slice the lemon, unless you have a kid-friendly knife. We love Curious Chef kid-safe knives for young kids and this beginner’s chef knife for school-aged children.
- Encourage kids to adjust their quantities of baking soda and lemon juice to alter the rate of volcanic eruption. It may take a few tries to get it just right!
- For even more fun, create more than one volcano at a time! Simply double or triple your materials, and before you know it, you’ll have two or three lemon volcanos erupting at once!
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🌋 Lemon Volcano Experiment
Equipment
- 1 Plate or baking sheet
- 1 knife
- 1 fork
- 1 glass container or bowl
Supplies
- 1 lemon (medium or large)
- 1 tbsp dish soap
- 1/2 tsp red or orange washable crayola paint (or food coloring)
- 1 tbsp baking soda
Instructions
- Slice a thin later off the bottom of a lemon.
- Next, slice the lemon in half.
- Take the half of the lemon with the flat bottom and place it on a plate or flat surface (this is your volcano!). Use a fork to gently stab and carve into the exposed side of this halved lemon to create space for the volcano to absorb the baking soda.
- Juice the other half of the lemon and collect the juice in a bowl or cup.
- Add a squirt of dish soap, followed by the 1/2 tsp of paint or food coloring and 1 tbsp baking soda to the lemon volcano.
- Pour the lemon juice into the lemon and watch the lemon volcano erupt!
Notes
- Adults can slice the lemon, unless you have a kid-friendly knife. We love Curious Chef kid-safe knives for young kids and this beginner’s chef knife for school-aged children.
- Encourage kids to adjust their quantities of baking soda and lemon juice to alter the rate of volcanic eruption. It may take a few tries to get it just right!
- Create more than one volcano at a time! Double or triple your materials and make two or three volcanos at once!
Thank you for visiting, Jeana! Cheers! -Julie & Marcie