OMSI likely breaks U.K. world record for largest baking soda and vinegar volcano

Published 12:00 am Sunday, July 23, 2017

Hundreds of people gathered at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry on Sunday, July 23, to witness history in the making.

OMSI would attempt to break the Guinness World Record — currently held by a school in the United Kingdom — for the largest-ever baking soda and vinegar volcano, a staple activity in many elementary school classrooms and science fairs.

Though they can’t say they’ve officially broke the record until they get the word from the Guinness World Records organization itself, OMSI organizers are confident they beat it.

It will take two to three months until they get the word, according to organizers. There are a few routes to prove a record was broken. A representative from Guinness World Records could not be on site at the event, so OMSI handed out official witness forms for a handful of attendees to fill out.

The is Elmfield Rudolf Steiner School in Stourbridge, United Kingdom. Students, parents and staff achieved the record in May 2015, building a 28-foot, 3.3-inch volcano.

Their project combined 26 gallons of vinegar and 26 gallons of baking soda and water solution, resulting in an eruption that rose 4 feet above the peak of the volcano. OMSI is confident they’ve crushed that with a 34-foot volcano, using 66 gallons of vinegar and 50 gallons of baking soda and water mixture, surpassing the school’s 4-foot eruption height, likely hitting about 10 feet.

“A lot of people came together to help with this,” says event planner Sonali Shivdasani. Engineers, riggers, architects and others came together to make the eruption happen. The crowd cheered when two streams of pinkish-red liquid shot into the air, making the area in front of OMSI smell of vinegar.

“We’re doing this because we’ve always talked about breaking a record,” Shivdasani says. “We just want to remind people that haven’t been here for a while that we’re here.”

Tina Vinokurov was there with her three children to witness the historic event.

“It’s just amazing for the kids to be able to say in the future, ‘I was there,'” she says.

OMSI will hold the event again on Wednesday, July 26, but at nighttime. It will blow at 9 p.m. for OMSI After Dark attendees.

The stunts are a celebration of its current “Pompeii: The Exhibition” display, about the famous and deadly volcanic explosion that buried the Italian city in the year 79 A.D.

OMSI’s exhibit showcase 200 artifacts, including art, gladiator helmets, weapons and jewelry on loan from the Naples National Archaeological Museum.

The exhibit also displays the largest collection of body casts ever presented, according to the museum. The ash from the volcanic eruption covered the city and acted as a preservative, leaving casts of bodies frozen in time.

Find out more: https://omsi.edu/pompeii