A little science experiment mixed with a little craft makes this such a fun project for kids of all ages! Our 2-, 4- and 6-year-old all enjoy this project! It provides a perfect opportunity to talk about the reaction that happens as you heat the soap. Kids can also practice counting up and down as you work with the microwave!
The soap will get really hot, so use caution as it heats up!
Supplies:
- White Ivory soap bars
- Parchment paper
- Microwave
- Optional: Food coloring and cookie cutters
Directions:
- Rip off a piece of parchment paper big enough to cover your microwave’s rotating plate.
- Unwrap 1 bar of soap.
- Place parchment paper onto the glass microwave plate.
- Set the soap bar in the middle of the parchment paper.
- Warm the soap in 15-second intervals, flipping the soap over or onto its side each time. We used the parchment paper to help flip the soap as it got hot. Each bar of soap took different amounts of time to fully warm: the shortest took six rounds of 15 seconds; the longest took nine rounds of 15 seconds. (Warning: Not flipping the soap will cause the soap to burn and smell up your house!)
- Allow the soap cloud to completely cool — the inside will be steaming hot!
- Once the soap cloud has cooled, allow your kids to crush it and mold it back together. Add a tiny bit of water if you need help getting it to stick together!
Optional: After smashing the soap cloud, you can reshape it into smaller soap bars using water, food coloring and cookie cutters. Or, store the cloud soap in the bathtub for more play later!
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