We have yet to meet a child who isn't into slime. Icky, sticky and awesome is where fun is had and this version keeps kids and surfaces both, clean along the way. It only takes pennies to create and is liquid one moment and solid as a rock another! Did we mention it can also clean your bathtub? Take that Play-Doh!
What You Need
Materials:
1 1/2 cup Cornstarch
1/2 cup Tap Water
Food Coloring (optional)
Liquid Extracts (optional)
Empty Container
Instructions
1. Mix: Add cornstarch and water to container of choice. Empty food containers (yogurt, sour cream, food storage containers) work great. Stir super-gently with a fork, the mixture will come together, but if you stir too quickly, the cornstarch will make things difficult (think quick-sand) and the water won't fully absorb. Mixture should be firm when mixed quickly with a fork and will crumble, while liquid when a finger is pushed slowly to the surface.
2. Stir In Additives: If you'd like, you may add in a few drops of food coloring or baking extracts to make things a little more colorful and smelly. (they may also be added to the water before mixing, but truth be told, we always forget)
3. Ready, Set, Play!: "Clean Slime" is a great outdoor or bathtub activity. If less is made (or smaller portions are used... think Dixie cup size), it's easily played with on any sealed piece of furniture. The mixture simply wipes up when finished. Our favorite place to turn kids loose with it, however, is the bathroom. Plunk a kid down in an empty bathtub and let them go to town hitting, slapping and picking up the slime to watch it melt between their fingers and return to liquid. When finished, simply rinse off!
4. Store: This mixture keeps in an airtight container forever. If it dries out, simply add a little extra water and stir to combine.
Additional Notes
This mixture can be "eyeballed" in any amount. If you'd like to only make a super small amount, simply add a few tablespoons of cornstarch and add water a few drops at a time! If it's too wet, add more cornstarch, too dry, add more water — it's as easy as that! Thinner mixtures can also be used as liquid sidewalk chalk paint!
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I love gak, it's really relaxing to play with.
Oobleck! We used to play with this stuff all the time as kids. It's such an easy toy.
arbequina - My brother and I did as well. We'd sit out on the front porch for house with boxes of cornstarch and the hose. We made a huge mess and had enormous fun! (the two are usually related)
WHOA! Don't rinse a wad of oobleck down the tub drain. It can clog the pipes something awful. If it does get all over the tub, dilute using lots and lots of water (until it can't clump) and mix in a good quantity of dish soap to make it slippery.
Even after you dilute the oobleck, those suspended starch particles can re-settle in the pipes and become rock hard. So at our place, we don't wash the stuff down the drain. It's food, so you can work in into the garden, leave it on the lawn, or add it to the compost pile, if you have one.
We made a batch of stuff last night in a large-ish latex balloon. Yeahhh, that was fun. Yet tidy! Fine starch particles and a little moisture oozed out through microtears in the balloon, but we squeezed and squashed for a long time without breaking the balloon.
BTW, attempting to narrate its behavior to my spouse made for endless double entendres, so win-Win-WIN. O.o
Would this be ok to use with a one year old who still puts everything in their mouth?
We used to do this at a school I taught at all the time! The best container to use, in my opinion, would be either sheet cake pans or cookie sheets with sides on them. My students loved to run their fingers through it, and the larger surface helps to keep drips in the play area.
Here is a much better recipe:
mix 1/4 cup white glue with 1/4 cup water
add food coloring
in another bowl mix 1/4 cup hot water with one teaspoon borax. Then mix it all together, and voila! Play-slime ooey gooey fun. Dare you to find a kid who does not love this!
@kpbittner: I would think so.. it's literally just cornstarch, water, and food coloring. You probably wouldn't want your child to eat a whole box full of cornstarch or anything, so you'll still have to keep an eye out to make sure the kiddos haven't found their next great delicacy, but a few tastes aren't going to hurt.
Borax can actually be toxic in large enough doses...I don't know that I would chance it by giving it to the kids to play with.
Cornstarch sounds like a much safer option IMO - can't wait to try it!
oh i just did this yesterday! my kids LOVE it! the cornstarch and water is totally safe for kids...it's all edible. my 2 yr old put it in his mouth and if your child is like mine, will most likely not eat it anymore because it doesn't taste good. :) not only do the kids have fun, but my husband and i do as well! it is easy to clean up off the floor with a wet rag too.
For the older child (7+), you can also stir together cornstarch and water (1:1 ratio) in a saucepan over low heat. When it reaches a pasty consistency, remove from heat and let it cool. Kids can then knead it into clean sand to make a moldable sand mixture that dries hard. Best for one-piece sculptures, as multi-part pieces tend to fall apart when dry.
arbequina -
OMG yes! Oobleck! We called it that too. Wow, I totally forgot about that Dr. Suess story. :D