The Earth contains many volcanoes, and you can demonstrate how a volcano explodes by creating a handmade volcano right in your classroom. Wrap a bottle of diet cola with aluminum foil. Set it aside. Create a dough mixture by combining 4 cups of flour, 2 cups of water and 2 cups of salt. Mix well, and apply it to the bottle, using your hands to form the dough into a mound, and covering the entire bottle to look like a volcano. Allow the dough to dry completely. Paint the outside of the volcano model to look like a real volcano, making the bottom brown and the top red, like flowing magma. Allow the paint to dry. Open the top of the soda bottle, and quickly place three Mentos candies into the soda bottle. The soda will react with the candies and will explode like a volcano.
Planet Earth is mostly water and contains vast amounts of ocean life, including whales, fish, dolphins, coral reefs and seaweed. Students can learn about the variety of ocean life on Earth by creating an ocean diorama. Take off the lid of a shoe box, and discard it. Paint the inside of the shoe box blue, to resemble the blue of the ocean. Cut out shapes from colored construction paper to resemble seaweed and coral reefs, then glue them onto the bottom of the shoebox. Cut out the shapes of different ocean lifeforms, such as dolphins and fish, then use a single hole punch to poke a hole into each creature. Tie a piece of string onto each creature, then tape the other end of the string to the inside of the shoe box opposite the coral reef and seaweed. This will make the creatures appear to be swimming. You can display the shoe box on a table top so that the students can observe and discuss the different ways other students envision ocean life.
A seismometer is a scientific instrument that is used to measure the movements of Earth, such as earthquakes. You can make a homemade seismometer with your students to demonstrate how this instrument is used. Begin by poking a hole in the bottom of a plastic or paper cup. Insert a pen into the hole with the writing point facing downward, then use duct tape to secure it to the cup. Set the cup aside. Take the top off a shoe box and discard it. Turn the shoe box so that the open end faces you. Poke two holes in the middle of the side that is facing upward. Set the box aside. Poke two holes in the rim of the cup, and string a piece of twine through them. String the same twine through the two holes in the shoebox, and knot it tightly. This will elevate the cup and pen inside the box. Fill three quarters of the cup with small stones. Place a sheet of white paper into the bottom of the shoe box. Instruct a student to shake or shimmy the box to replicate an earthquake. The pen will make zigzag marks on the paper as the box is shaken.