At Collingham, in the Green classroom, we've been finding out about how the atmosphere has changed over time.

We looked at the pollutants produced by volcanoes and how early eruptions changed our atmosphere.

The children built a model volcano around a film canister (the crater) using mud rock – picture attached.  Each child chose an area around the fertile volcanic land to build a village.  We poured vinegar into the canister with red food colouring, popped in half an Alka-Seltzer tablet and placed the lid on.  The reaction produces carbon dioxide gas.  After a few seconds our volcano erupted shooting the cap of the volcano and spewing lava down the sides.  Only one of our villages was destroyed in the eruption...

We then looked at how human activities affect the atmosphere and how we can reduce the pollutants produced.  We found out about what causes pollution and what alternative energy forms there are.  We found out how catalytic converters and scrubbers work as well as how the carbon cycle keeps the conditions in the atmosphere in balance.

Bellow is a photo of some of the work we produced.