Volcanic activity is a factor for landcape building and causes a great impact on human beings and the natural environment. For this reason, the study of volcanoes is very important in hazard and risk assessment, as well as in mitigation planning. This work studies the image a group of Central American primary school children living in a volcanic region have of a volcano. The study was carried out on a sample of 100 students, aged 7-9, and 162 students aged, 10-15, who all drew a volcano. The drawings were analysed according to the deductive categories: volcano shape, internal structure, human presence and disaster. The results indicate that the mental model of volcanoes of students is more influenced by what they see in the audiovisual media and other sources, than by their own experience with volcanoes in the region where they live.