Soap Science in Schools
in the early evening of September 12th, 2007It has been insanely busy which is great, I’m not complaining. A very big chunk of that time is spent chasing down work rather than being paid for it but again, I’m not complaining, as the feedback and interest has been very positive. My partner and I feel so optimistic, that we splashed out on an Academic Year Planner lol.
I,m speaking of consulting in schools on the subject of Soap Science and the best part about this work, is that I can modify the syllabus to suit primary school children, high school students before they plunge into university, as well as the secondary students that I work with now.
The Soap Science module that I developed for secondary students fits perfectly with Science Key Stage 3 as we address topics such as:
acids and alkalis
the pH of soap
saponification
understanding essential oils versus fragrances
The processes are discussed in detail and children are shown examples of the many variations that are achievable with soap.
After this discussion, students are able to engineer their own custom soap, working with a pre-made base, that can be safely and easily re-melted.
They are then asked to improve the perfomance of the basic soap base by researching and selecting from a small variety of essential oils and botanicals.
Whilst the soap is setting, the children are tested on the knowledge they have learned with a simple crossword.
Once the soap has set, they are asked to wrap and label product for sale, listing a batch date. The best part is when they realise they get to take home the soap they crafted.
