I’m assuming you’re talking about the Borax Crystal experiment and not this Ivory Soap experiment, right, Patty? You could try crystallizing a cement object. I think it would work. I’ve seen others use sea shells and those worked nicely.

I wouldn’t advise dismantling your microwave unless you’re qualified to do something like that. We’ve never had a problem with the scent lingering, but to neutralize any odours in a microwave (my son once microwaved a chocolate chip cookie for 3 minutes, and our microwave smelled like a bonfire), just put a cup filled with vinegar in, and microwave it for a minute. Let it stand in there until completely cooled. That worked for me with the cookie fiasco. 🙂

I have never heard of it! Would you please post the recipe? That sounds great! (And we love the smell of Ivory too. My children and grandchildren are grown but I have some great grandchildren that would think Nanny is pretty special if she could do some of these things! I just found this site today and will use it often. Thank you so much for the easy and safe things to do with kids!

I’ve only used the original, Sel. I imagine it would work with the others, but I’m not endorsing that as I can’t speak from experience. 🙂

You definitely need Ivory for this experiment, Emma. It’s the high moisture content that make the expansion possible. Other soaps may just heat up and burn, and ruin your microwave.

Oh! That sounds cool. We’ll have to give it a try!

Yes, drop the food color on the bar before you expand it and watch the magic!

Cool! What a great one for science week!

It’s the brand soap that you need, Julie. The one pictured in the post.

Precious children learn as much from the loving care of the person who spends time helping them enjoy life as they do from a rigid set of steps toward a focus that does not hold their interest. This Ivory experiment has exciting factors that enhance the learning and the desire to seek further knowledge about the children’s observations.
Impressionable minds remember what truly interest them. When education is bathed in genuine care and concern for the educated, questions will arise that prompt even more learning.
Thank you for your “Clean Fun” suggestions, and for your comments on the reasons that we should use Ivory.
True Science has qualities often unseen to the closed heart and mind, and, as with most of life’s lessons, there are appropriate levels of explanation. Your little ones are blessed to have you.

Excellent point, Karen. Thank you!

we always used Ivory soap on the Christmas trees too! But, you can only make snow for the trees with Ivory soap flakes… When they stop making those, that tradition died.

Thanks Julie! It’s a shame that some people are just so darn unhappy that they feel the need to pass their negativity on to others. I love your exuberance and zest for life! Thanks for lifting others up instead of knocking them down. x

Gosh, i hope you’re teaching your children to be a little kinder and less critical of others, Aaron, but anyway… regarding your point: that’s the reason I’ve provided the link, near the bottom of my post, to Steve Spangler’s Science page – so you can find out the scientific reasons for the soap expanding. Perhaps you didn’t read far enough through my article to see the link, and just jumped to conclusions. In any case, even if I hadn’t provided the link, a parent could certainly research the science behind it themselves, before doing the activity at home. Gee, hope your day gets better, Aaron. Sounds like you’re off to a cranky start.

I’m so glad you’ve found us, Becca! I’m so glad you’re enjoying my site! Do be careful using Dial. In fact, I actually wouldn’t recommend trying it with any brand other than Ivory because the air content isn’t as high. I’ve heard other brands can smoke and burn and actually ruin a microwave.

Ohhh, and it would smell so good too!

I would give it a try with a newer bar of soap, Jenn. I wouldn’t let it sit out to harden or dry out. I’m thinking the moisture in there would be a good thing.

It will stay that way until you crumble it up, Amy. Although it looks fluffy, it’s actually hard and solid, but can be crushed to a powder easily just by squeezing it.

You might’ve, Michelle. My microwave has never smelled for more than a few minutes after doing it. How about microwaving a coffee cup filled with water and vinegar for a minute or so after Leave it to sit in there for a half an hour. Vinegar is good for absorbing odours. Then give the microwave a wipe, and maybe the scent will be gone.

It’s the high air content that makes this work, Terrie. I can’t say if it will work with other brands. It could just burn. I really don’t know first-hand.

Thanks for mentioning that, Faith. No one here has any respiratory problems, so I hadn’t thought to mention that it might be a problem for those who do.

Yes, there’s a link near the bottom of the post that takes you to Steve Spangler Science’s website, where the scientific part is explained, Lizzy. It all centres around the Ivory soap, and why it’s different than other brands.

A couple of weeks? That’s some strong food colouring, Xubie. We use food colouring at least once a week here, both liquid and gels, and we’ve never had staining like that. My hands usually get the worst of it because I do most of the hard-core mixing, and they’re always clean by the end of the day. A few hand washes, and it’s gone.

I’m so glad you’re enjoying my posts, Jennifer. I love that the things that I do in my small home-daycare are inspiring moms like you to get creative with your own hooligans! x

I imagine you could, Taylor.