Science Camp Part I

T.S. Eliot obviously didn't grow up in the South. Any Southerner knows that it is July, not April, that is the cruelest month. The kids have been out of school for a month and we're all plucking each other's nerves. And yet, there's still a full month to go before school begins again. Oh, and it's hot. Surface-of-the-freaking-sun HOT! And humid. Sauna humid.

I have to limit outside play so that no one keels over from dehydration or heat stroke. And the options of indoor entertainment that will suit a 1.5-year-old, a 3-year-old and a 6-year-old are few and far between.

I ease the burden on all of us by sending The Bigs to a few camps throughout the summer, but there's still more togetherness than we're used to. And a lot less routine than we're used to. We don't do well if we don't have a plan. So this summer I planned some at-home camps. So far we've had cooking camp, circus camp and science camp. There was a feeble attempt at sports camp, but that shriveled up and died in the 100-plus-degree heat.

Circus camp was fun because Cap'n led the charge with his ability to juggle and spin plates and do all sorts of other fun things that I am far to busy (read: uncoordinated) to do. And cooking camp was as much fun for me as it was for The Boys. But the stand- out has been science camp. So much so that I think there will be another session in the coming weeks.

I like to start things out easy and work up to the big finale. (I'm like a fireworks display.) So with the help of my two best friends, Google and Pinterest, I set out to find some simple and fun science experiments*.

Let this picture serve as a warning of what will happen to your bathroom if you put too much trust in my buddies Googs and Pinnie.

Here's what you'll need to have a bubbly bathroom just like mine:

2 Bars of Ivory Soap
1 Microwave
Microwaveable Plate
At least 2 small children
1 Bathtub in need of a scrubbing

Things started off well-enough. We dropped our Ivory in a bowl filled with water alongside another bowl in which we'd dropped a bar of Dove. The Boys hypothesized about why different things happened in the bowls.

Then we put the first bar on a big plate, put it in the microwave and set the timer for 2 minutes. As we all huddled around soaking up micro-waves, it became obvious that 2 minutes was about 1 minute too long.

When the soap started to reach the walls of the microwave we took it out. And because I'm so smart and forward-thinking, we then did the exact same thing with the next bar!

There's another view of it on the kitchen counter.

The Boys thought it felt like paper- and it did. It's what I imagine papyrus must feel like- very fragile. Very cool, indeed. After much crumbling and attempted sculpting I was ready for the soapy goodness to go away. And that's when inspiration struck.

I think all of the Ivory fumes coming from the microwave must have gone to my head, and I decided to fill my garden tub with water, Ivory flakes and The Boys. I'll remind you that this is TWO FULL BARS of soap. Once everyone was settled in, I slipped out of the bathroom to steal a few minutes to myself.

When the crying started about ten minutes later, I went back in to find Big D with bubbles all over his face. And in his eyes! I'd forgotten to mention that Ivory is not tear-free! Once I'd helped him clean up, he wanted back in the tub, and really, what little boy wouldn't want to play in this:

The following morning I still had about six inches of bubbles in my tub.

So, what lessons did we learn with this experiment?

-If you put a full bar of Ivory in your microwave for 2 minutes, you're likely to be chased from your home by a foaming mass of 99.94% pure bubbles!
-Even at 99.94% pure, Ivory still burns the eyes.
-Green beans steamed in the microwave used for this experiment will have a mild soapy flavor.
-The smell of Ivory lingers in the home and hair for at least a week.


Stay tuned for more excitement from science week!

*Yes, I know, there is very little experimenting going on here. To hell with the Scientific Method!