Science Project: Slime

There are plenty of ways to enjoy slime, no doubt about that. But one of the best ways to enjoy it is to make it! This recipe for slime is easy and involves only a few simple household items. And it makes a great science project.

Make Your Own Slime
Courtesy of little-inspirations.blogspot.com

White Glue, Water, Borax and Food Coloring Make Slime
Courtesy of www.stevespanglerscience.com

Materials:

• 2 bowls
• ½ cup Elmer’s glue (one regular sized bottle)
• Water
• 1 teaspoon Borax powder (sold with laundry detergent)
• Food coloring
• Spoon
• Plastic Ziploc bag

Instructions:

1. Add the ½ cup glue and ½ cup water in a bowl. Mix well.
2. Add a few drops of food coloring the desired color. Mix well.
3. In another bowl mix 1 cup water and 1 teaspoon of Borax powder.
4. Slowly pour the glue and water mixture into the Borax solution.
5. Knead the mixture until it hardens and dries out a bit. Don’t worry if there’s still a watery mixture in the bowl. The harder slime is what you can play with!

Much like quicksand when you apply pressure to the slime it will harden. And when you don’t apply as much pressure it starts to drip. This is because the slime is a polymer, where the molecules are all linked in long strings like spaghetti. When the pressure increases the slime hardens, when it decreases it loosens.

To have even more fun with your slime remember that when you use white glue your slime will come out opaque, if you use clear glue it will be transparent. And if you want to add a certain glimmer to your slime, add some glitter!

The best way to store your slime when you’re not playing with it is to put it in a plastic Ziploc bag and store it in the fridge.

Have Your Say

What else can you add to your slime creation? Glitter, more color? Share your ideas in the section below!