The Chocolate Muffin Tree is one of my favorite blogs for fun creative ideas of things to do with kids. I had never seen this Ivory Soap sculpture idea, and just had to share it! Check out the Choclate Muffin Tree for further creative ideas and fun. ~ MaryAnn
:::::::: From The Chocolate Muffin Tree blog ::::::::
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2011
Colorful Ivory Soap Sculpture
Have you ever tried the Ivory Soap Trick? It is super easy and a Great Science Lesson! We just happened to have some Ivory Soap around and I happened to come across this idea from the weekly post 10 Ways To Make Today More Magical from A Magical Childhood. I've seen this idea many times, but it was a great reminder to try it! The instructions and Science behind it are found here, if you want more detail. We did the trick a few times (It is addicting!), but also put an Artsy twist on it! Here is our Colorful Ivory Soap Sculpture. Keep reading to find out how we did this trick and how we made it more fun! 
Before the trick, I did a little reading about the science behind this amazing experiment here and decided to incorporate a little bit of learning about what floats and what sinks and why? We tested a bar of Dial Soap and Ivory Soap and noticed which one sank and which one floated. I had my daughter try to guess why? Then I explained that the Ivory soap has air in it which causes it to float and Dial soap has very little or no air.
To do the trick, first put a unwrapped bar of Ivory soap on a paper plate or piece of paper towel.
Place the soap in your microwave for about 90 seconds and it will puff out and grow into this amazing looking foam sculpture!!!! I didn't let my daughter watch the whole time because of the microwaves harmful rays! Interesting Information: My Father, who worked with radiation, has told me the most dangerous place to stand is the side of the microwave because that is where the harmful rays leak out! He said the front has a protective shield on it so I just thought I would pass that along since I am mentioning the dangers of microwaves.
Now you can see how the soap puffed out! My daughter absolutely LOVED this! We've done it three times and she keeps asking about doing it again! I explained to my daughter that the reason it puffs out is because there is air inside the soap that makes it expand when heated ... she seemed to understand! To make our Ivory Soap Puffed Sculpture more beautiful, I let her put drops of Liquid Watercolor (you could use food coloring) on it to paint it! Be careful because the soap is hot right out of the oven and especially in the center of the soap!
The sculpture is not at all permanent and flakes apart so it is definitely an "in the moment" activity! My daughter loved touching the sculpture and wanted to save pieces of it!!!
Here is a finished "Colorful Ivory Soap Sculpture" again! Beautiful! (or Not?) What do you think? We put the finished sculpture back in the microwave to see what would happen and there was not much difference. I appreciated that my daughter wanted to keep experimenting!
I know we will be doing this "Trick" again and again!!! My daughter keeps eyeing our Ivory soap in the bathroom closet and I'm sure it will happen soon! If you are wondering if you should try this ... it is totally worth it!!! Have FUN !
Wow! Thanks so much for sharing this on your blog! I am honored to be on your blog! Thanks for the inspiration and wonderful books! We have done this experiment trick a few more times....it is addicting!
I know! I wish I had some grandkids so I could wow them. :) Meanwhile, I'll delight my husband with this crazy surprise.
Posted by: Majordan | Monday, September 26, 2011 at 07:20 PM