Oh, the places you will go…making oobleck to celebrate Dr. Seuss’s Birthday and for just plain FUN anytime.  Kids will love this goo that acts as a solid and a liquid.

If your kids love gooey fun you will want to try these best slime recipes. I show you exactly how to make slime.

oobleck

Oobleck

This stuff is amazing. My boys (okay and me too) were totally taken with this goo. Oobleck defies Newton’s third law of motion–for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. It is a science lesson that is a lot of fun!  If you quickly smack it with your hand it immediately turns into a solid, instead of splashing or moving. If you slowly move it with your hands it reacts like a liquid. Cool!

How to make Oobleck

If you are wondering how to make oobleck it is SUPER easy. You only need two ingredients (three if you want it colored). Such a simple recipe for so much fun.

Needless to say, our oobleck took a lot of fist smacking! Our kitchen was filled with lots of “Wow,” “Cool,” wide eyes of amazement and much laughter!”

how to make oobleck

Everybody had a handful (or two) of fun, and we even had some great conversation about science.  “Is the oobleck solid?  Is it a  liquid? Is it a solid-liquid?”

fist on oobleck

Whipping up a batch of this stuff is a great way to learn while having lots of fun! Please read the comments on this post for the scientific explanation of what is happening.

child making oobleck

What is Oobleck made out of?

Oobleck is made of:

  • cornstarch
  • water
  • food coloring

It couldn’t be any easier to make this science experiment you only need cornstarch and water. We made ours with 2 cups of cornstarch and 1 cup water. You can make your Newtonian fluid (or is oobleck a non newtonian fluid you can decide for yourself after reading all of the comments) any color you like, just add food coloring. Can you make oobleck with flour instead of cornstarch? No. Instead of turning into oobleck, flour mixed with water makes a dough.

Oobleck Recipe

You will find this oobleck recipe is mesmerizing and will keep kids engaged for a long time.  When they slowly grab a handful of the green substance it will ooze through their fingers and then they will notice by quickly applying pressure to the mixture it feels solid.

Another big bonus is oobleck gets kids interested in Science and how things work.

Oobleck Recipe

You only need a few easy ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry to whip up this amazing concoction.
Keyword craft, crafts, kitchen science
Prep Time 5 minutes
Author Cindy Hopper

Ingredients

  • 2 cups cornstarch
  • 1 cup water
  • food coloring optional

Instructions

  • To make your own oobleck mix 2 cups of cornstarch and 1 cup water in a bowl. If you want to color your oobleck like we did, add a few drops of food coloring to the water before adding to the cornstarch. It took some effort to mix the water and cornstarch. Try it out (hit it with your fist and pour it off a spoon to see if it works) before you give into the urge to add more water to make it easier to mix.  We played with our science experiment all afternoon, and when the kids weren't playing with it I covered it with plastic wrap.

Notes

[brid autoplay="true" video="454172" player="18814" title="How to Make Oobleck"]

Be sure to read about oobleck with Dr. Seuss book Bartholomew and the Oobleck! You might also like these inspirational Dr. Seuss Quotes.

Oobleck

Too Cool! Really, you must give it a try! After your kids are done with this science project get them hooked on slime and kinetic sand (moon sand)? Slime or Gak is another fun goo your kids will love.  See how we make super safe slime, two-ingredient slime safe slime  and don’t miss all these amazing slime recipes (who has ever heard of magnetic slime!)

Remember after playing with oobleck, slime or kinetic sand washing hands is a must!

Celebrate Dr. Seuss Birthday

How do you celebrate Dr. Seuss Birthday?  Do you start the day off with green eggs and ham?  Do you read your favorite Dr. Seuss book–or is it just too hard to choose only ONE favorite book?!? Here are some great ideas from our readers:

  • “Oobleck is only one of the names for this crazy stuff. When I taught Preschool, I would make this with my class again and again. We called it MAGIC MUD. I would send the recipe home so that the parents could make it and the best part was that if it got on the carpet or clothes, you just let it dry completely and then sweep/vacuum or throw in the washer. I also used this with the very little ones ( 1-2 yr olds) since it was safe for them to put in their mouths. 
  • It is also called QUICKSAND and all you do is make it a tad thinner and then do a lesson around how quicksand works in real life.”  ~Robbin
  • “I read “Bartholomew and the Oobleck” and brought it to my son’s 2nd-grade class. I do every year on Dr. Seuss day. It never gets old, the kids LOVE it.  ~Laura
  • “I make this with my students every year for our final solids/liquids unit lesson.
    Try mixing it in a heavy-duty Ziploc bag – it is easy to “smoosh” the bag, rather than mix the oobleck with a spoon. Also, add the water to the cornstarch slowly – if you go overboard, you will have a watery mess, rather than Oobleck!”   ~MichelleRemember after playing with oobleck, slime, and kinetic sand

Be sure to let me know what you think! I hope you keep coming back for more fun things to do with kids! If gooey slimy things are what your kids like you will want to show them how to make slime after making oobleck.


About Cindy Hopper

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Comments

  1. When I was a kid my science teacher made this. I loved it was so much fun, years later I made it with my kids. Messy fun

  2. Help i was making it and then a few days later my balls started groing hair??!!?! Is this supposed to happen??!?(!?!! It is 2 hairs I think it is because i wiped my hands on my pants please advice!!!!

  3. I can’t believe the non-science people that are so offended because Ann Harter corrected a misconception especially since, she was so gentle and nice about it. Why do some people have to put others down to make themselves feel better about who they are? I did not get the impression at all that Ann was belittling or trying to make anyone feel dumb. No one knows everything. And just because you may be incorrect in your understanding of science – doesn’t mean you may not want to learn the correct explanation. Some people are life-long learners and enjoy learning. And some people like to introduce good science to their kids while they are still young, having fun, all ears and all inquisitive. The very best time! Young kids may not understand a scientific explanation but, I guarantee, when they are older and hear it again, they will remember it faster than kids that have never heard it or had it explained incorrectly.
    What am I saying? As a secondary science teacher, I have students come into my classroom with preconceived notions that learning science is hard or boring. What I’m hearing from the comments here is disappointing and helps to explain where that type of thinking comes from. Science is too complex and difficult for younger kids to understand and to provide a scientific reason would kill the fun? Science can’t be understood nor explained by parents that aren’t chemists and physicists and should be saved for serious upper level classroom learning? Please give your children an advantage. We live in an increasingly technological world and it would be extremely beneficial to your child to be familiar and comfortable with scientific explanations. Without science, technology would not exist. Guess where the jobs will be in the future?

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