How to Make a Paper Mache Volcano: Build, Paint and Erupt

What you’ll need

• One clean, empty small plastic drinks bottle, uncapped; a cardboard base wider than the planned slope; a washable tray larger than the base
• Newspaper, masking tape, scissors for an adult, a paste bowl and a brush
• Cooked paste: ½ US cup plain flour and 1 US cup water; saucepan, whisk and a heatproof place to cool it
• Acrylic paint in brown, black, red and yellow or ochre; paintbrushes
• Optional eruption only: 1 tablespoon baking soda, 1 tablespoon dishwashing liquid, 2 tablespoons water, ½ cup household vinegar and 1 tablespoon red food coloring; separate bowl, cup and funnel

Keep the opening accessible and the base supported

An adult should handle cutting and hot paste. Set the base inside the tray before sizing the mountain: leave room around it to catch spills and to pick up the tray. A small bottle keeps the project manageable; its height sets the minimum height of the model.

Red Ted Art supplies the newspaper-and-tape construction. The optional liquid mixture below is a separate Natural History Museum demonstration, whose model uses a 200 ml bottle. Start with that small-container scale rather than enlarging the quantities for a tall bottle. A taller bottle may bubble without overflowing.

References: Red Ted Art: bottle-and-newspaper volcano construction · Natural History Museum: separate eruption mixture and demonstration

Build the frame, cover it and let it dry

Keep the mouth clear throughout. The bottle and newspaper core stay inside this model; there is no demolding step.

1. 1. Secure the bottle and shape the slope

   Tape the upright bottle to the base. Pack crumpled newspaper around it, wider at the bottom. Run masking tape from below the neck to the base to hold that outline. Check that the bottle cannot rock before adding wet paper.

   

2. 2. Prepare and cool the paste

   Whisk ½ cup plain flour into 1 cup cold water until smooth. Stir continuously over low heat until the mixture resembles thick soup but still flows from the spoon, then remove and cool completely. Test the cooled paste on a scrap of newspaper: it should spread across the paper without leaving thick lumps. If too stiff to spread, stir in a little water and check again. This is the saucepan route in our cooked-paste guide; the construction video heats its paste differently.

3. 3. Cover the slopes

   Coat torn newspaper, remove drips, and overlap pieces over the taped form down to its foot. Fit shorter pieces at the neck. Keep the bottle lip and opening free. Cover gaps without stacking folded wads.

   

4. 4. Dry and inspect

   Leave the model on its base. Check the lower slope and overlaps as well as the top. If a dry coverage still has gaps or weak areas, add another coverage and dry again. The source allows a second layer if needed; it does not establish one layer count for every size.

Check the full saucepan paste method →

Judge readiness before painting →

References: Red Ted Art: bottle-and-newspaper volcano construction · Red Ted Art: cooked flour paste, including saucepan method

Watch the newspaper-and-tape construction

Red Ted Art · How To Make a Volcano for the Science Fair

Observe how the bottle stays open while paper and tape build the slopes. The optional measured eruption below follows the Natural History Museum mixture, not the video’s quantities.

Paint a rocky slope and visible lava paths

Once the paper is dry, brush on a brown acrylic base; a little black can darken recesses. Let it dry, then paint narrow red paths from near the summit downward and add yellow or ochre along parts of them. Keep paint out of the bottle. Let the paint dry before carrying or demonstrating the model.

Our illustrated palette is a simple editorial variation. Carry the tray or base with both hands rather than grabbing the mountain. You can finish here with a dry display model. A craft coating does not make the newspaper or cardboard waterproof.

Plan the acrylic finish for a dry indoor display →

References: Red Ted Art: bottle-and-newspaper volcano construction

Optional: run an open-bottle foam demonstration

Expect the surrounding paper to get wet if foam overflows. Use a washable tray on a wipe-clean surface and an adult supervisor. Keep faces back from the opening, protect eyes from splashes, and never cap the bottle during the reaction. Skip the liquid demonstration if preserving a dry display matters more.

1. Mix the first portion

   Following the Natural History Museum mixture, combine 1 tablespoon baking soda, 1 tablespoon dishwashing liquid and 2 tablespoons water in a bowl. Transfer it into the open bottle through a funnel, then remove the funnel.

2. Add the vinegar last

   In a separate cup mix ½ cup household vinegar with 1 tablespoon red food coloring. Pour it into the bottle and step back. Let the foam rise and subside without touching or sealing the opening.

3. Finish the session

   Let the reaction stop. An adult should empty the bottle while supporting the model and base over a sink or washable container. Wipe the tray and leave the model to dry. Stop reusing it if the base warps, the shell softens or seams separate; do not rinse the paper shell under a tap.

References: Natural History Museum: separate eruption mixture and demonstration

Check the model before adding more material

The bottle contains the mixture; the paper makes the landscape. Keep those jobs separate when diagnosing a problem.

References: Natural History Museum: separate eruption mixture and demonstration

Sources & further reading

• Red Ted Art: bottle-and-newspaper volcano construction
• Red Ted Art: cooked flour paste, including saucepan method
• Natural History Museum: separate eruption mixture and demonstration