This is a real photo! I took this photo! We just returned from Hawaii where we stayed at Volcano House, a hotel on the edge of the Kilauea Volcano. When my husband first suggested we stay on the edge of an active volcano, I thought he was crazy. And then when I learned that the volcano was currently erupting, I knew he was crazy.
I learned so much about volcanos and volcanism, and why the Hawaiian volcanoes are not dangerous. There is enough information out there to keep a student busy and involved in authentic projects about volcanoes for a life time.
Many students have done the quintessential project of building a model of a volcano erupting. But do they truly understand what they are modeling? What causes volcanoes to erupt? Why are some volcanoes active while others are dormant? Why do some erupt violently while others, like the Hawaiian volcanoes, do not? For a project to be truly authentic, students need to ask questions and plan research to answer their questions. Building a model of an erupting volcano is a lot of fun, but is this really an authentic learning activity. (Perhaps it is, if you are including learning about chemistry. Or, how to clean up a huge mess cooperatively.)
I was truly fascinated to learn why some of the Hawaiian islands are dormant while others are not. There is even a new island forming in the Hawaiian chain. You can’t book your hotel room on the new island quite yet…it won’t break the surface of the Pacific Ocean for another 10,000 years! I am on the waiting list…
