Today I stumbled upon my DS6 nuking rocks to make magma. Has anyone else had this experience? I thought I could leave him alone. Yikes!

Interesting...what was the result? We have a heavy iron content in some of our rocks, I wonder what would happen if I put those in a microwave?

He does know to never, never, NEVER!, put live animals in, right? Also, never nuke a raw egg in the shell!

haha, happy days...

Ha Ha Ha. Thats so much fun. My sister and I used to microwave all sorts of stuff. FYI some crayons can be a problem. We lost a microwave this way. I was 7 and sis was 5.

I would make sure and explain to him not to put anything metallic in there. Unless you think this would encourage more exploration.

A good chemistry set might help deter him from the microwave.

On a slightly related note, recycled paper towels can "kill" a microwave, too. They often contain some metal from other recycled materials.

We (my kids and I) tested the "exploding water" myth, different ways to cook eggs, and the reaction of different concotions in the microwave compared to freezing, cooking (electic skillet) and baking. We'll have to make more concoctions in the near future, my kids always got a kick out of it. The eggs were a mess. (So were the concoctions!) Oh and we did get water to "explode" once.

Oh, and of course, this is *all* perfectly "normal" for kiddos under 5 years old.

My family used to go to my married older sister's house for Thanksgiving when I was a kid. One year, she got a brilliant idea! She decided to save time and effort by cooking the turkey in the microwave oven. Why get up early to cook when it's so easy to push Power: High followed by Start?

The turkey turned grey and smelled like it had been boiled, which left us with tinned cranberry sauce and frozen vegetables for dinner. It took my mother and my other sister over an hour on the phone to find an open restaurant with an open table for 6 adults, an unhappy starving kid, and a baby.

Ouch!

Val

this is a funny thread for reading about those 'tendencies':

The Destroyer

Yes, I would say it is "normal". Normal for kids whose parents are posting to this forum, anyway.

The microwave, as my husband has many times described to me, works by agitating the water molecules in anything. With little water, there might be little heat (but lots of sparks!)

Here's some actual info, yay! Turns out it's not just water.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_does_the_microwave_oven_work

Put crayon shavings in water and melt them in the microwave, then use them for dipping Easter eggs in. It's really pretty! Nice streaky colors!

I tried that once, as well as putting a doll in the microwave (fyi, not a good idea). Also, play dough in the oven to make a volcano does not work well, either (lots of goo in every corner, especially if the temperature is on "clean"). My youngest has done a few microwave experiments, too. As long is it's not meltable plastic or metal, it's usually okay...

Too funny. I wish it were garage sale season so I could pick up an old one for him for his experiments. I tried to explain the concept of heat waves but I am not sure I got it right. I pointed him at Google and said "Have away with it" after a ton of "Why won't this work?" And yes he knows all about the water molecules and made the melted snow explode shortly before I came in and noticed he was using a glass cup! I-YI-YI. I need spring to come so he can go back to mining and looking for lava fossils in our backyard. So much safer.

Funny! Here's a computer game (Powder Game) that DS5 likes - you can make volcanoes on it: http://dan-ball.jp/en/javagame/dust/ or try clicking through this site if that doesn't work: http://jayisgames.com/archives/2008/02/powder_game_4.php

No mess!

LOL!
I do not remember how old I was, but certainly much more than 14....

Hi HKC,
This brought back memories. Our son mucked up our air cond. with tiny pieces of paper, just to see what would happen. He was 3. Later, he put his Legoes in the broiler pan, same reason. At 4, he stuck an unripe berry up his nose, same reason. The ER dr. used forceps. Not pleasant. By the way, dr. said he'd find all kinds of things up kids' noses, even Barbie shoes. We were exhausted, keeping his mind stimulated with all kinds of experiments. There're lots of books on home experiments. The volcano was a favorite. Paper mache, baking soda, and vinegar. Food coloring makes it cool. Very normal, yes.

LOL Dottie - I was about 14 also! I think I'm older than you (by a lot) but my Dad was an 'early adopter' and always had money to 'throw around' on stuff like that. I remember our first VCR Machine - which was almost the size of a washing machine (ok, I'm exaggerating, but it covered the whole top of the TV and was a feet deep and felt like it was make of bricks. Oh the noises it made when opening and closing!) We didn't go with Betamax, and recorded many TV shows. I think I was in my early teens for that as well.