• Science projects create understanding about natural hazards.Volcano walk image by Emma Delmonte from Fotolia.com
  
  Develop three-dimensional models of natural hazards to demonstrate to children the dramatic effects they have on the land, vegetation, animals and people. Natural hazards are often unpredictable and are beyond human control. Teaching children what they are and what to do when faced with a pending natural hazard will help them educate their families and others about ways to seek shelter and safety from a natural hazard.
  
  

Volcano

• Mold the shape of a volcano mountain with modeling clay or make a model out of paper mache, and leave the center hollow. Paint the model brown and build a residential or forest scene around the volcano. Mix up a recipe to make the volcano erupt. John Seach of Volcano Live uses baking soda, vinegar, water, detergent and food coloring to imitate a volcano eruption.
  
  

Tsunami

• Build a tropical island scene where coastal trees, vegetation, houses, cars and businesses have been devastated by a large wave. Spray non-toxic expanding foam to create the shape of a large wave sweeping across the coast of an island. Paint the foam model with touches of blue to imitate the water.
  
  

Hurricane and Tornado

• Build a model of a town or city with its commercial and residential areas. Make a path through the scene where everything is leveled and debris is scattered to the surrounding areas. Use expanding foam spray to build up the shape of a tornado or to demonstrate the wind of a hurricane. Add shades of gray, black and a touch of blue to their swirling shapes to mimic the drama and force of these natural hazards.
  
  

Fires

• Demonstrate the effects of wildfires on forestry areas and neighboring residential and commercial properties by building a model of a forest fire. Paint fire designs on several pieces of cardboard and cut them out. Stand them up throughout a model forest scene. Spray non-toxic expanding foam onto the model to represent smoke and touch it up with light gray paint. Paint the bottom of the foam with the same red, orange and yellow colors used on the cardboard fire models to imitate fire.
  
  

Floods

• Build a model of a village that has become flooded. Set up the scene in a clear, large rectangular plastic container and fill it with water that comes up to the roofs of the houses and tops of the trees. Place small row boats and homemade floating devices, such as tire inner tubes or refrigerators, to demonstrate how devastating floods are to their victims.
  
  

Drought

• Make a desolate scene of dry, light-colored sand that no longer has soil nutrients and whose trees and vegetation have died off. Make an indentation in the ground to represent a dried up body of water.
  
  

Avalanche

• Build a paper mache model of a snow-covered mountain with a town near its base. Spray expandable foam onto the side of the mountain to represent a mass of snow that has tumbled down its side as an avalanche and the town is threatened to be damaged by the rushing snow.