One of our most popular STEM Night activities was slime making where kids learned how to make slime and got to take some home. Most of the supplies for this chemistry activity are common items that you might already have at home: glue, food coloring (powder or liquid dye), lotion, bowls, Tide or/and Borax solution, shaving cream, and cornstarch.
This experiment is really easy to do. Try it out in your kitchen and let your kids do it themselves!
Fluffy Slime
- Mix 1/2 cup of glue with 1/2 cup of shaving cream
- Add 1 tablespoon of cornstarch
- Add a few drops of food coloring
- Add a pump of lotion
- Add 3 teaspoons of borax solution (mix 1 cup of hot water with 1 teaspoon of borax) or Tide
- Kneed with hands
- If you want a smoother texture, add additional pumps of lotion as needed
Regular Slime
- Mix 1/2 cup of glue and a pump of lotion
- Add in food color (optional)
- Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of Tide
- Kneed with hands
- If it is too sticky, add a little more Tide
The Tide or borax is essential to the mix as it solidifies the liquid so that you can play with it!
The two slimes are equally messy, but they have different textures and the regular slime takes less time to make. Personally, I like the fluffy slime more, but with the Tide instead of the borax solution, but you can do either. Feel free to experiment!