How to Make Slime

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Materials Needed:

A large table
1 cup cornstarch per child
About 1/4 cup water per child
Food coloring (many colors)
1 zip-lock plastic sandwich bag per child

Set up a big table outside (if possible), and cover it with a newspaper. Your party guests can stand up while making slime if there aren’t enough chairs. Hand out sandwich bags and let the kids pick out a favorite shade of food coloring.

When children have their materials, begin demonstrating the following steps, pausing often and checking that the kids are following directions properly:

1. Pour 1 cup cornstarch into the sandwich bag, and slowly add about 1/4 cup water mixed with a few drops of food coloring.
2. Carefully press the excess air out of the sandwich bag and seal it shut.
3. Knead the sandwich bag until the mixture is well-blended and smooth. Make sure not to puncture the bag!

Watch the delight as the kids mix up the “magic” concoction, which slowly changes from dry to wet, from hard to soft, and from white to a color. Tell the kids to first squeeze the mixture firmly and quickly in the bag and then feel the mixture “melt” in their hands.

Creative Options

The kids can add two different shades of food coloring to their slime to make a new color.

Let everyone put glitter in the slime, at the same time the food coloring is added, for a little sparkle.

Another fun and magical recipe is a catsup and mustard creation that the kids can work with to make designs. Just put a blob of catsup and a blob of mustard in a zip-lock bag for each child, seal it, and let the kids create colorful designs by pressing or “drawing” on the baggies with their fingers. The two colors will stay separated for a while. Once they’ve completely mixed, pour the contents in a bowl and use this special sauce to top hotdogs, burgers, or French fries.

Trouble-Shooting Tips

Even though the described slime mixture is nontoxic, it’s not a good idea for the kids to put it in their mouth. Warn them ahead of time to touch but not taste.

To be on the safe side, seal the sandwich bags with electrical tape to make sure they won’t open during handling.

If you have a large group, premeasure the materials so that all the kids have to do is pour and mix.

Provide the children with old T-shirts to put over their clothing so the food coloring won’t stain their good clothes.