how we made a 3D cross-section volcano

It's been a long time since I posted a school project. But since the top searches on my blog always lead to our rainforest diorama and atom model, I thought it might be time to post another one! I've been meaning to post this for years: Lizzy's 3D cross-section volcano.

Here's how we made it. We started with a large cardboard tube cut in half, and a flat square box about the size and shape of a large pizza box. I cut an arc in the middle of the box and inserted one end of the cardboard tube, spread a little at the base.

The main body of the volcano was built up using lots of foil

until it looked like this from the top

and this from the side.

The next bit was a little tricky and probably unecessary. We cut away the top of the box in front of the "volcano",

cut the cardboard at the front of the box, folded it back, added another piece of cardboard to join it all together, and fastened them with thick tape

so that the "underground" was included in the cross-section.

Then Lizzy covered our "volcano" with paper mache made out of newspaper and wallpaper paste

until the foil was completely covered;

and covered this with a layer of plain paper mache

until it had a smooth, plain surface.

Once the paper mache was dry, we blocked in the three main colours using poster paint,

then blended the different colours into each other to make it look more natural,

and painted some "lava" overflowing the top.

Here's how it looked from the back.

Lizzy used red cellophane to make the "lava" in the middle of the volcano,

then added cotton wool to make the "smoke".

To finish it off she added a few labels. There you go: a volcano!

how we made a model of Saturn

Time for yet another science project! This one's a model of Saturn,


made from an old vinyl record (Jesus Christ, Superstar, as it so happens) and a large polystyrene ball, cut in half with a hacksaw.
Lizzy painted the rings of Saturn on the record

and made the stripes streaky using a folded paper towel.

She painted the polystyrene ball halves

and glued them to the record with a glue gun.


She screwed a large screw into the top of the model, tied on some fishing line,

and voila!

one model of Saturn.
(She's just informed me she has to do another project - on South Korea, this time - thankfully not involving any models!)

how Lizzy made an atom model

Lizzy was allowed to choose the topic for her last school project. It didn't surprise me that she chose a topic - Atoms and Molecules - which involved making a model.

So we set off to the craft store for some polystyrene balls; got hold of some poster paint, craft glue and wire (the wire hoop from the pink net which used to hang above Lizzy's bed proved to be just the thing); looked up ideas on the internet; and got cracking.

Here's how we did it.

Lizzy painted some medium-sized polystyrene balls blue for the protons.

She painted some medium-sized polystyrene balls red for the neutrons.

She painted some small polystyrene balls green for the electrons.

She glued the blue and red polystyrene balls together with strong craft glue to represent a nucleus.

She screwed an eye hook into the top of the "nucleus".

She threaded the "electrons" onto the wire.

She formed the wire into hoops (with help!) and held it with strong tape.

We tied the nucleus and hoops together using fishing line.

Voila! One model of an atom.

And it was a lot easier to make than this!

the genesis of a rainforest diorama

What do you get when you cross 1 child's enthusiasm for their first school project with 1 mother's pedantic perfectionism? A rainforest diorama in a box.

Take some aluminium foil and shape it into a tree:

make some more trees and put them in a box:

mould a forest floor to fit the box, attach the trees, and cover the foil with paper mache:

paint the paper mache:

drape the trees with vines, and add a monkey:

paint a background inside the box:

mould a frog out of coloured paperclay or plasticine:

add a cardboard tree fern, a corpse flower, and a crocodile:

hang a butterfly and an eagle:

add a tree snake, orchids, pitcher plants, a parrot, and a jaguar:

add tissue paper leaves, cellophane water, a flying parrot, and a river dolphin:

and label everything.

One rainforest project complete!

Lots of fun and a lot of hard work! In case you're wondering, yes, I did help Lizzy with the fiddly bits - foil moulding, paper macheing, painting trees - but she painted the box, made the animals and flowers (with a bit of guidance), cut out the fern leaves, and stuck on the labels by herself.

And if you're feeling at all inadequate, my fellow mothers, about all the rainforest dioramas in a box which you have never made with your children (yes, I know how you think) keep in mind that we have never made one before either (I've never even done paper mache with my kids before, I admit it) and will probably never make one again. I'm hoping Ben will choose a rock pool habitat for his 3D project when he's in grade 3. Cardboard starfish in a bowl...now that sounds easy.