NATCHEZ &8212; Since the start of the Trinity school year, Julie Timm&8217;s fifth-grade science class has studied rocks and minerals, clouds and seismic waves.

But it was the last area of discussion &8212; volcanoes &8212; that students feel has been the most exciting.

&8220;I really liked building the volcano,&8221; Turner Lessley said. &8220;But the most exciting part was the eruption, because it&8217;s an eruption!&8221;

Last week the class began studying and building their own cinder cone volcanoes using materials such as clay, papier-mache and even mud. Friday, the class set off eruptions in their volcanoes using baking soda and vinegar.

Cinder cone volcanoes are small volcanoes with one central vent or opening from which lava flows.

Monday, the class attempted to set off an eruption of a different kind.

Timm constructed a large shield volcano. Shield volcanoes are the largest and most famous found on Earth. They contain numerous interconnected openings and cover a much more vast area than cinder cone volcanoes. An example of this type would be the Ring of Fire or Hawaiian volcanoes.

For the experiment on Monday, Mentos and Diet Coke were used to set off the eruption. The Mentos acted as a trigger, releasing more carbon dioxide than usual in the Diet Coke. The actual eruption in the mock volcano didn&8217;t go as planned but the class improvised using a couple of 2 liter Diet Cokes, giving the students a chance to still have a bit of fun while learning how Mentos and Diet Coke react when combined.

The class has touched on areas such as how volcanoes are formed, where they are most common, the effects they have on the environment and great eruptions of the past.