Science Smarts: It’s not slime, it’s not bubbles, it’s a bit bouncy – you decide what to call it

By PATTY ROOKS on October 16, 2021.

What a great week I have had experimenting with some pretty fun materials in order to come up with this amazing Halloween science experiment.

It took some time this week, but I think I have come up with a bit of a unique one. It is not slime and it is not bubbles, it is a bit bouncy… hmmm.. not sure what to call it!? You decide!

Let’s get started!

Remember to ask an adult before doing this experiment.

Materials

• Measuring cups

• Measuring spoons

• Water

• Food colouring (optional)

• Straws

• Counter that you can work on

• Plastic (disposable) table cloth

• Clear school glue

• Liquid starch (laundry section at grocery store)

• Mixing spoon

Procedure

• Place the plastic tablecloth on a good sturdy work surface so your cleanup will be easy. This is going to get messy!

• Measure 125 mL (1/2 cup) or clear glue into the bowl.

• Add a few drops of food colouring if you want. Green is always a favorite with slime!

• Mix well.

• Measure and pour in 15 mL (one tablespoon) of liquid starch at a time. You want to mix it well after each tablespoon of starch you add.

• Keep adding the liquid starch until you have the desired consistency.

• Pinch off a clump of the slime and roll it into small round balls.

• Pace on the end of the straw.

• Find a target and blow!! NOTE: NEVER blow at someone’s face or eyes. Please be careful.

What is going on?

I know this experiment was quite fun, but did you know that you actually did science?! Slime is an amazing material you can make. In scientific terms, it is actually called a polymer. A polymer is basically a long chain of molecules. In this instance they also had stretch and flexibility. This is due to mixing both the glue and starch together. When you add the glue to the starch you created something called cross linking; allowing the molecules to become more flexible and less liquid in form and creating this amazing gooey substance!

Keep an eye out for our virtual Family Science Olympics coming soon.

Patty Rooks, Senior Scientific Consultant PRAXIS, “Connecting Science To The Community”. Contact Praxis at praxis@praxismh.ca, http://www.praxismh.ca, Tweet or follow us @PraxisMedHat, or friend us on Facebook.

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