I will be the first to admit that this ivory soap explosion is one super cool, fun science experiment! You’ll be just as impressed as your kids when you try it.
Here is what you will need:
- Ivory soap (It MUST be the brand name IVORY soap. Other brands will NOT work! It must be a fresh bar too.)
- A microwave
1) Take one bar of Ivory soap and cut into half then in half again. Place one piece of the quartered soap in the microwave.
2) Set microwave for 3 minutes (even though you won’t need that much time) and push start.
3) Sit back and watch!
After about 90 seconds the soap will expand to about 6 times it original size!!! It won’t be too hot to touch either. Let it sit for about a minute or two and then remove it from the microwave and watch for your kids’ reaction.
I will admit that I wanted to see what would happen to a FULL bar of soap….learn from me…don’t do it…fight the urge! I had to stop it before it finished because my entire microwave was FILLED with Ivory soap!
The soap still works the same, so don’t toss it. I placed ours in my son’s bathroom and he loves to snap off a chunk each time he takes a shower.
Why does this Ivory Soap Explosion work? Ivory soap is whipped with air when it is made. When heated in the microwave, the air expands thus expanding the soap!