Five Ways to Celebrate Vesuvius Day

August 24 is Vesuvius Day. Vesuvius Day is August 24^th because on August 24, 79 A.D. Mt. Vesuvius erupted. It killed over 3,000 people while burying the cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae in pumice and volcanic ash.

While this happened a long time ago, it is never nice to celebrate death. However, Vesuvius Day gives us a change to celebrate the wonders of nature and to learn about the Roman cities that were buried when the volcano erupted. Here are five ways to celebrate Vesuvius Day.

Learn About the Cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae

Vesuvius Day is a perfect day to do research on the Internet or go to your local library and look up information about Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae. You may find these cities mentioned together since they were all covered by volcanic ash from Mt. Vesuvius. However, it is likely that more will be learned if each city is studied separately from the other first. The one thing they all had in common is that they were Roman cities.

Learn About Mt. Vesuvius

Another thing that you can study by looking up articles on the Internet, in encyclopedias, or in books at your local library is Mt. Vesuvius. Learn about the location of this volcano, its eruptions, and the status of the volcano today.

Learn About Volcanoes

Learning about volcanoes can be done in many ways. Reading books about volcanoes is a good way to start learning about them. You can also watch films about volcanoes that explain how they work. While there is a movie called Volcano , it is not en educational movie. You can watch it on this day if you would like, though.

Build a Baking Soda and Vinegar Volcano

While a baking soda and vinegar volcano is not a science project, nor is it truly how a volcano functions, the project can show some of what happens and it is always fun to make. About.com has instructions on how to make a baking soda and vinegar volcano.

Make a Volcano Cake

While even less scientific than a baking soda and vinegar volcano, a volcano cake is always a cool thing. There are different ways of making volcano cakes. Some use dry ice to produce steam. Others use ice cream like the lava as it melts down the warm cake and put sparklers in the top of the cake. The Food Network has instructions on how to make a volcano cake that uses dry ice to create steam. This is a tasty treat that can be enjoyed on Vesuvius Day. For an extra challenge, or perhaps extra fun, why not try to make the cake look as much like Mt. Vesuvius as possible?

Sources:

August 24 Vesuvius Day at Holiday Insights. (n.d.). Holiday Insights August, 2011 Holiday fun, about holidays, Left Handers Day . Retrieved August 9, 2011, from http://www.holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/August/vesuviusday.htm

Helmenstine, A. M. (n.d.). Build a Baking Soda Volcano - Classic Kitchen Volcano Recipe - Volcano Project. Chemistry - Periodic Table, Chemistry Projects, and Chemistry Homework Help . Retrieved August 9, 2011, from http://chemistry.about.com/cs/howtos/ht/buildavolcano.htm

Kitchens, F. N. (n.d.). Volcano Cake Recipe : : Food Network. Food Network - Easy Recipes, Healthy Eating Ideas and Chef Recipe Videos . Retrieved August 9, 2011, from http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/semi-homemade-cooking-with-sandra-lee/volcano-cake-recipe/index.html