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
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!”
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?”
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.
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
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
Be sure to read about oobleck with Dr. Seuss book Bartholomew and the Oobleck! You might also like these inspirational Dr. Seuss Quotes.
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.
Very cool, something so easy to make but also something for kids to play with without it harming them. Very neat
OMG!! Seriously people – this post is for something FUN to do with kids! They will learn the science/physics stuff soon enough in school – let them enjoy the summer and being a kid!! I agree with Brooke – my 6 yr. old grandson is NOT going to come all the way up here to see me for a science/physics lesson! Some people just have to be a “know-it-all” and suck the fun out of everything! This is the best website with wonderful and fun things for both kids and adults – if you want to teach a science lesson, go somewhere else, please!
Hahah! I was just looking around for some fun, tactile/sensory objects and activities to do with the special needs teens I work with and came across this post. I’m excited to try it…and as fun as it was to read the comment thread, I probably won’t be mentioning anything to them about Newton!
I’ve been making this with my kids for 14 years 🙂
Did you also know that if you leave it open to air in just a few hours it turns to chalk… and yes you can write with it on your chalk board using your fingers. SO much fun!
If you want to re use it just add a bit more water, it comes right back to goo 🙂
Good Grief, someone takes the time to create a post that promotes a parent spending fun quality time with their kids and some party pooper has to try to take the fun out of it !! Shame on you Ann Harrter..
What a great idea for a fun experiment with kids! I’m pretty sure when I do this experiment with my 4 year old niece she will neither care, nor remember if it denys newton’s third law of Motion or not. 🙂 keep up the great posts, and remember that not all parents are physicists or chemists. I think that may even be why we send them to school…..
I just tried this today, and it’s so fun!! I really worked for me! At my school we did this but I was absent and really wanted to do it. So, when I found this, I WAS SO EXITED!! Thank you so much:)
that lady is such a jerk – it’s all in fun !
But an arguing is purely subjective as is relativity so i say were discussing and enlightening eachother
Ok Ann I kinda understand why she posted originally and she was correct to do so and im not trying pick on her and “gang” up on her but what Robin said was sorta right she didnt need go in say last comment and oh and to make u feel dumb actually some laws are not laws and hate that they are called such like Boyles law which states as you double pressure the volume of gas will half is not a law because you can imagine at some point when the molecules are touching you can double the pressure but the volume will not half. Thus its really a limiting law. So actaully the guy who posted isnt to far off becuase there are few laws even newtonian mechanics and the standard model and yes even the most accurate of sciences which have been proven to billion of degree of accuracy such as quatum physics have their limitations so you to be careful with what you say and how you say it :} Party On!
Something fun for kids to do, turns into something for adults to argue about…. Who’s acting like kids here anyway???
Ooooh yeah, because science is so un-fun. Whatever Kristine, you Luddite. I only came to this post because I was interested in the assertion that Oobleck is non-Newtonian fluid, who knew! We used to play with this stuff as kids too and I always wondered why if you compressed it quickly enough it would shear off like stone and then melt together like butter. Interesting stuff.
Oh dear God can you people suck the fun out of something.
Dolly – this stuff isn’t meant to keep. It’s just cornstarch and water, so there are no preservatives in it. It’s just something fun to make and play and then throw away.
It might be possible to add a bit of tea tree oil to the water as a natural preservative though.
I made this and after about maybe 3 weeks it got moldy?????Any suggestions.?!?