Ancient Greece History Co-op - Week 4 - Atlantis

Week 4: The lost city of Atlantis.

Everyone believed the ancient cities of Troy and Mycenae were just myths until one day they were discovered. Could Atlantis also have been a real place? It was the subject of our history co-op this week.

If it was real, it most likely disappeared from a tsunami which occurred in connection with the devastating eruption of the volcano of Thera. Thera's eruption caused a tsunami which nearly wiped out the Minoan civilization and led to its downfall. Much worse than the holiday tsunami of 2004 it would have led to destruction of many coastal villages and cities.

First we watched a tsunami video. Then we built a simple volcano.

A paper cup was wrapped in aluminum foil to create the volcano.

Two tablespoons of baking soda and three drops of red and yellow food coloring were placed in the cup. Then a cup of vinegar was added to the cup and KABOOM!

The volcano was placed in the bathtub because the earthquake which caused it to erupt also caused the tsunami. The volcano was conveniently constructed on top of a plastic container which was used to simulate the tsunami.

Here's a short video of the tsunami.

The DK reader Atlantis, The Lost City is a simple book good for elementary aged kids. The book gives a nice background and goes well with this activity.


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