The Science Fair

Every spring, a science fair is held at Desert View Middle School in Phoenix, Arizona. More than a hundred projects are presented in the gym, and the best ones are chosen by three judges: a chemistry teacher, an engineer and a scientist from the local university. The winner is given a trophy and a place in the state competition.

Diana Morales, who was twelve, had decided to build a volcano. Her older brother laughed when she told him. "Everybody makes a volcano," he said. "It's the most boring project in the world." But Diana had a plan. Her volcano wasn't going to bubble a little. It was going to produce the biggest eruption the school had ever seen.

For three weeks, the garage was used as a laboratory. The volcano was made of newspaper, glue and paint, and it was almost a meter tall. A plastic bottle was hidden inside it. Her experiment was based on a famous reaction that scientists call "elephant toothpaste," because it produces a thick, fast column of foam. Her science teacher had checked that it was safe, and she had tested it many times. In her tests, the foam rose about thirty centimeters. It was good, but not good enough, so on the morning of the fair, she doubled the amounts.

At eleven o'clock, the judges arrived at her table. Diana put on her safety goggles, explained the chemical reaction carefully and poured the last ingredient into the bottle. For two seconds, nothing happened. Then there was a deep, loud sound, and a huge column of orange foam shot out of the volcano, hit the ceiling lights and came down like snow.

The judges were completely covered. The chemistry teacher had foam in her hair, the engineer's glasses were orange, and the scientist from the university was laughing so much that he couldn't speak. The whole gym went silent, and then everybody started clapping. Diana wanted to disappear under the table.

She didn't win the trophy. It was given to a boy who had built a solar-powered water cleaner, which, Diana had to admit, was a much more useful idea. But when the prizes were announced, the scientist from the university stood up, still wiping foam off his face. "This year, a special prize will be given," he said, "for the most memorable experiment in the history of this fair."

Two days later, Diana's project was described in the local newspaper under the headline "Volcano Erupts at Science Fair, Judges Survive." A photo of the three orange judges was printed next to the article, and it was shared thousands of times online. Since then, Diana has been invited to visit a real chemistry laboratory at the university, and her brother has stopped saying that volcanoes are boring. The gym ceiling, however, still has a few orange spots.