Year 4 Erupt with Excitement

Our Year 4 pupils had an unforgettable day when they welcomed Dr James Hickey, Associate Professor in Geophysics and Volcanology at the University of Exeter. His visit quite literally made science erupt into life!

Dr Hickey began with a look beneath the Earth’s surface, explaining how molten rock, or magma, moves through the crust and builds pressure before erupting. He showed pupils the difference between effusive eruptions, where runnier lava flows form wide shield volcanoes, and explosive eruptions, where thicker magma traps gas and creates dramatic blasts that shape steep stratovolcanoes.

To make the science tangible, Dr Hickey recreated the process in the classroom. First, he dropped sugar crystals into lemonade to show how gas bubbles form inside magma. Then came the main event, a spectacular cola and Mentos experiment, modelling how pressure builds and eruptions occur. By adjusting the number of Mentos dropped into the cola and changing the bottle openings to represent vent sizes, pupils saw how varying gas levels and pressure affected the power of the eruption. The shouts of excitement as the fizzy ‘lava’ shot into the air said it all.

Through hands-on learning, the children discovered how volcanologists study these forces to better understand and predict real eruptions and support the communities that live in volcanic areas. Dr Hickey’s passion for his subject was contagious, sparking curiosity and enthusiasm across the year group.

A huge thank you to Dr Hickey for sharing his expertise, energy and love for volcanoes.