I was once given three pounds of ammonium dichromate by a colleague who
taught a science demo class for elementary teachers and who used to
show them how to make a "volcano." Basically he had a plaster of paris
volcano with cup in the top. He would pour ammonium dichromate into
the cup and light it with a match. The stuff would burn and smoke and send up
a greenish ash that would rain down all over the "Volcano." It was
very effective but he stopped doing it because he read somewhere that
the stuff might be toxic. I ran a regional science fair for 30 years
and consequently, I have seen a lot of these "ammonium dichromate
volcanos." Who was it said "a little learning is a dangerous thing?"
Bob Schramm