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Volcanoes
How does heat escape from the churning engine that keeps our planet running? Through volcanoes.
Video
Space Volcanoes - Shelf Life 360
Awe-inspiring extraterrestrial eruptions
Video
Shelf Life 18: Under the Volcanoes
What makes one volcano more explosive than another?
story
Making Rocks
Some volcanoes slowly ooze magma while others explode with immense power. Yet all volcanic eruptions begin in the magma chamber....
Find a Vent
Climb aboard a virtual expedition in search of a deep sea vent.
Exhibit
Volcanoes Under the Sea
The longest volcano chain in the world is the 80,000-kilometer-long mid-ocean ridge system, where new ocean crust is formed and the...
Exhibit
Volcanic Environment
When molten, silicate-rich fluids erupt onto the Earth’s surface, minerals often form in the numerous pockets and holes that develop...
Educator Materials
Mapping Mt. Rainier
Beneath the glacier-clad summit of Mt. Rainier lies an active volcano, which has more than once produced enough molten rock to bury...
game + video
Plates on the Move
A volcanic eruption that could be felt across an ocean, an earthquake that sparked landslides, massive tsunamis, and a volcanic eruption...
Exhibit
Volcanism
Volcanoes provide an efficient way for solid planets and moons to shed their internal heat.
Article
Article: Follow the Magma
In 1669, the fastest and largest lava flow documented for Mount Etna on the island of Sicily killed most of Catania's 20,000 residents...
story
Volcanoes: Magma Rising
What causes volcanoes to erupt? How do scientists study them? Let’s explore one of the most powerful, destructive volcanic eruptions...
Article
Volcanoes
Some volcanoes explode with the force of an atomic bomb. Others spill rivers of gently flowing lava.
Article
My Expedition to the Lava River Cave
To gain a better understanding of volcanoes, this eighth-grader from Arizona decided to go spelunking. Take her tour of the Lava...
Video
Monitoring Mount Etna: Magma on the Move
Volcanologists keep wary watch on Sicily's restless peak.
Blog Post
Recipes for Eruption
Museum researchers use different combinations of heat, pressure, and rocks to uncover the science behind volcanic eruptions.
April 21, 2015
Blog Post
Expedition to a Modern Pompeii
The upcoming exhibition Nature’s Fury features chilling artifacts from a volcanic eruption that destroyed a bustling Caribbean city...
November 6, 2014