Activity Overview
Paint the Clouds with this fun activity that is actually 3 fun activities all in one! This activity first begins as a fun science experiment that is fun to watch, then becomes art, and lastly endless messy sensory play that will bring endless smiles to children of all ages.
Watch in amazement at what happens when you put a bar of Ivory Soap in the microwave oven. This activity utilizes a fun at home experiment to create and only requires a couple of materials. The soap gets very hot, so adult supervision is recommended for this activity.
Ivory soap is manufactured using a whipping process that infuses air bubbles into the bar of soap. When the bar of soap is heated, these tiny air bubbles which contain water molecules, expand rapidly and cause the bar of soap to move and grow into a fluffy cloud like structure. When it cools, however, it hardens on the outside leaving a fluffy spongy texture inside. This makes a beautiful fun palette for kids to play with.
Materials Needed
- A bar of Ivory Soap
- A paper plate
- Microwave
- water
- cups
- food coloring
- droppers or pipettes
How to Do It
- Place the bar of Ivory Soap onto a paper plate and place in the microwave.
- Set the microwave oven for 1-2 minutes press start.
- Pull up a few chairs and observe what happens to the bar of soap over time.
- Remove the plate of soap from the microwave and let it cool for a few minutes.
- Carefully place the soap cloud into a shallow dish or bowl. We used a pyrex dish.
- Fill cups of water and drop different colored food coloring in each one. Stir.
- Use a dropper or pipette to drop colorful water onto the cloud structure. Watch as the colors seep into the soap cloud and mix together.
- Over time, with the addition of the colored water, the texture and consistency of the soap cloud transforms into a gooey mixture which will have the kids squealing with delight.
- Announce when it is time to dive in with their hands and let them squish it around with their hands and play in the goo.
