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. I read “Bartholomew and the Oobleck” and brought Oobleck to my son’s 2nd grade class. I do every year on Dr. Seuss day. It never gets old, the kids LOVE it.

  2. 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!

  3. ummm, we make this all the time. What did it turn out like? You can try adding a touch more water.

  4. If you’re feeling really brave try putting a speaker on its back (facing up) and wrap it in seran wrap to waterproof it. Then make a bowl or saran wrap over the speaker and put this mixture into it. When you play inth music the mixture becomes solid and bounces around to the beat.

    http://www.google.com/search?q=big+bang+theory+cornstarch+and+water+video&hl=en&tbs=vid:1&tbo=u&ei=fKi8S-zON5Sa8ATs8bCoDQ&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBMQqwQwAA

  5. Yesterday we celebrated Dr Seuss’s birthday ( a few days late) with the residents( I am an Activity Director at a nursing home)- I had some kids come in to read Dr Seuss books to the residents. I read bartholomew and the oobleck and when I got to the part about the magicians I started mixing up the oobleck- I stole a hair from one of the boy’s chins and shook my stocking foot over the bowl and mixed it with my hands- the residents and the kidlets were making all the fun noises “eeew, gross, can I touch it?” I scooped some oobleck into small containers so the kidlets could take it home. Thank you for the recipe, it was so much fun! It was even easy to clean up- just waited til it dried and it wiped up fine!

  6. How could I have forgotten about Oobleck!?! I can’t wait to make this! My 4 year old is going to have so much fun! Thanks for sharing this with us!

  7. There’s no end to the amazement on this site…I rec’d a copy of Dr. Suess’s Bartholmew and the Oobleck for Christmas 1960, it was among my favorites and glad to know someone else remembers it.

  8. Oh my gosh! I saw this and had to run to the kitchen to make it! We have no kids, but it did entertain my husband and I! Thanks!

  9. 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 receipe 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.

  10. This is so awesome! I mean like I already knew how to make it but i just wanted to read it & make it at home!

  11. Just made this not too long ago, I added another dash of water, and it worked super. 😀

  12. OK, So we made this stuff to play with before Halloween. My entire kitchen is a total wreck. We played with it so long I had to start spritzing it with water! We had the best time!

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