September is in full swing and we thought we’d celebrate by doing Back-to-School week! My oldest kiddo just started pre-school and Kate is now the mother to an official kindergartner. This week we’re going to have *five* posts. Hear that? A post every single day of the week you lucky duckies. So make sure to check in! Kate is going to be sharing some great breakfast and school lunch foods (something we’ve gotten tons of requests for) and I’m going to do some really fun kitchen crafts/science projects that are great for entertaining young hands and minds. Which brings me to today’s post.
Do you guys remember this??
I was so obsessed with that stuff and I totally remember the commercials. When I made this homemade version I couldn’t believe that it had the exact same smell. Took me right back to 6th grade!
If you’ve ventured into science fun like this before then you already know that 97% of home projects require the same 2 ingredients. Elmer’s glue and borax. In fact, I’m convinced if I combine them in enough different ways I’m sure to come up with then next earth-shattering invention like velcro, post-it notes or spray cheese.
Start by dissolving a teaspoon of Borax in one cup of water and set it aside.
Now pour the Elmer’s glue in a separate bowl. You can use either clear glue or white glue for this. For this first batch I’m using clear.
Add some water to that glue
and then stir in some food coloring. I think green is quite fitting for slime, don’t you?
Once that’s all stirred up, just pour your Borax mix into the bowl. You will instantly see masses forming in there. Straight out of an alien movie I tell ya. Or a science book. I know there’s some science-y explanation for the magical formation of slime, but I couldn’t tell ya. Something about polymers…man I used to be really awesome at chemistry. Now I just make really awesome cookies. I think cookies are way more useful as an overall life skill.
See? Say it with me: ewwwww! You just want to use your hands at this point and just kind of stir and smoosh and try to get all of the solids.
It will be wet and soft at first but you just have to keep kneading it. The moisture will knead out or absorb (just toss the liquid left in the bowl) and soon you’ll have a nice blob. Normally a finished product resulting in a “blob” is not a good thing, but this is an exception. Love your blob.
I have to say I actually prefer the white glue. I don’t know why, it just seemed to have a nice texture (you know, because I’m such a connoisseur of slimy blobs). This time I enlisted my only favorite helpers. This is a fun project for kids, just supervise and make sure they’re old enough to understand it’s not something to eat.
Older kids can help measure and stir and younger ones can stand and protest that they don’t get to. And then try to eat the science experiment. It’s all about the family fun.
This is their favorite part. Both of my kids said in unison, “Ahhhhh!! There’s something in there!”
This is a good picture of what you’ll get when you first try to grab it. You might think you messed up because it’s so loose. Just keep smooshing!
And soon it will look like this. Nice and smooth and dry to the touch.
It only takes minutes to make and your kids will think you’re awesome. And it will totally keep them busy for at least 3.5 minutes. Hopefully even more if your kids have longer attention spans than mine do.
What kid doesn’t like to squish slimy things?? Even *I* love playing with this stuff!
Homemade Slime
Your kids will have so much fun in the kitchen with this homemade slime!
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon borax powder
- 1 1/2 C water divided
- 4 oz 1/2 C Elmer's glue, clear or white
- food coloring
Instructions
- Add borax powder to 1 cup of water and stir to dissolve. Set aside. Pour glue into a medium mixing bowl and add 1/2 C water. Add a few drops of food coloring until desired color is reached and then stir to mix glue solution until smooth.
- Pour the borax mixture into the glue mixture and watch the solids start to form. Stir for a few moments and then use your hands to gather the mass. The mixture will be very soft and wet.
- Keep kneading until it firms up and feels dry. Discard excess liquid in bowl. The more you knead and play with the slime the firmer it will become. Store in a ziplock bag or air tight container and the slime will keep indefinitely.
Notes
- *Note: that this is not a recipe for human consumption. It is for play purposes only. Make sure to supervise young children.
Did You Make This Recipe?Snap a picture, and hashtag it #ourbestbites. We love to see your creations on our Instagram @ourbestbites!
Questions & Reviews
Hey ladies!!
As far as clean up – let it dry. found it on my carpet. It actually dried away from the carpet. Excuse the choppiness of the comment – typing one-handed while I nurse 🙂
i love this idea but i have learnedthe hard way not a kinda thing to put in a ziploc bag and forget about.
Anyone know how long this lasts? I am wanting to make it for birthday presents and have a busy week before the birthday party…I don’t want to make it and then have it no longer set for the birthday party. I have airtight containers and can store in the fridge as some have suggested, just looking for how long this lasts. Thanks!
Keep it in zip loc bags or gladware and it’ll last for MONTHS. AND MONTHS : )
Thanks for the recipe! We are going to make this tomorrow at an 8 yr old “Mad Scientist” birthday party. FYI your “print this” button is not working. 🙂
I have made this in my science class. One little angel’s portion of “gloop” with glue and Borax got dropped behind a table and has been stuck to the carpet for 5 years.
I make it white and let them choose colored craft sticks to stir the gloop. As it starts to set, the color from the wooden craft stick starts to transfer onto the gloop. The red, green, and blue work well. The yellow craft sticks not so well.
You can always tell a real-life mom from her realistic estimate of putting in 15 minutes of work for 3.5 minutes of kid play time…which is used to clean up what was dirtied in the 15 minutes previous. Thanks for the recipe! My boys are gonna think I rock…even after I have to spank #2’s hand for eating the stuff.
We made this with 8 ozs of Elmer’s Glue and a cup of liquid starch.
ok so i did white elmers glue and glitter glue. the glitter glue you get the color and the glitter but not the same consistency as the white glue. the white glue is awesome but i didnt put in food coloring
I didnt want to use food coloring cause i didnt want to worry about having to clean up after it. elmers makes clear glitter glue in several colors. i made this using the green glitter glue and didnt use food coloring it worked great! my son is so excited over this stuff! thanks!
i made the slime yesterday with my two kids and they loved it. hours of entertainment! we added goggly eyes! i linked your post on my blog: http://www.thelettereblog.com/2012/03/17/slime/
I used this in a round up today for Little Leprechauns. So much fun to draw the boys into some crafty time. http://www.kidscreativechaos.com/2012/03/three-clever-st-patricks-day-crafts-and.html Pinning too.
I’ve made this dozens of times over the past decade. If you follow the directions, no short-cuts, and don’t add too much food coloring, it should work. There will usually be left over liquid that needs to be discarded. Also, if you made it white, you can let your children color it with old, washable Crayola markers when they play with it. Eventually, it all turns a gross grey color, but they have fun with it in the meantime. Store it in the fridge, in Ziploc bags, to make it last longer, but know that it is more flexible and stretchy, the warmer it is. Thanks for posting this fun idea!
Can I use anything as a substitute for Borax? I live out of the country and they don’t sell it here 🙁
Not that I know of Raquel. That specific soap has chemical properties that cause the reaction needed. You can always purchase it online.
Liquid Starch will do it, but if your grocery store doesn’t have Borax, they probably don’t have liquid starch either : P Plus, liquid starch slime tends to be runnier.
The chemical component in Borax that you need is Sodium Tetraborate, a safe salt of boric acid.
Do you know a substute for elemers glue?
Nope, it’s kind of an important ingredient 🙂
You can use almost any inexpensive detergent. I try to find one without Borax, as it causes an allergic reaction with my daughter’s friend.
OMG IT IS SOO FUN I COULD PLAY WITH IT ALL DAY IF MY MOM WOULD LET ME.HA IT IS SOOO FUN!
This is awesome. My daughter and I made eight batches in a row tonight, we had to run out to grab more glue. Afterwards, we used all our old pots and pans and opened a slime cafe. Thanks for the great recipe, too much fun!
Ive made several batches and they NEVER turn out like the ones pictured here do i really need to use elmers glue, do different colors (food coloring) make a difference my green will turn out but blue or red never become unwet feeling please help.
You’re probably putting too much water into your glue. I find a “safe” percentage to be 2/3 glue and 1/3 water, though if you toy with that a bit and add a LITTLE more water, your slime will be slightly more pliable/stretchy. Try it!
I am in Australia and have never come accross ‘Borax’ what is it so that maybe i could get something like it????
You can purchase it online Tamina, just google!
Try the laundry isle in the supermarket. It’s definitely available in Oz.
I did this this week in my homeschool. I blogged about it and linked back to this post. Thank you so much for sharing. Here’s where you can find your linkback: http://sonshineclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2012/02/five-senses.html
I love this stuff! We actually made it in my Forensic Science class in college. It was to demonstrate how substances can change with they interact with other substances. We also took clear plastic lids (like the kind that come off to-go salad/sandwich containers), drew on them with sharpies and then put them into a toaster oven. They melted…kinda…more like they shrunk down to the size of coasters. That was to demonstrate how heat changes materials.
In other countries, the glue we call Elmers’s glue is also known as PVC glue. Found that out on a British art program. Yes, it’s plain white school glue, of the sort used to glue paper and cardboard. Different brands will bond differently, so do make test batches.
I think the reason you liked the white glue’s texture better was because you used 5oz of the clear glue instead of 4. But I don’t know for sure… just a thought.
My girls were pretty grossed out about the idea of making slime, but in two minutes their pink slime was ready and they are loving it. Thanks for the fun idea.
We don’t have the glue brand “Elmer’s” in New Zealand. Is it just standard kids craft glue, designed for cardboard and paper etc?
Thanks for the awesome recipe, I can’t wait to try it as soon as I work out a suitable brand glue substitute for down here.
Thank you so much for the recipe and the “how to”.
My nephews will have ton of fun with this slime.
My 4 year old and 2 year old sons LOVED this!
My two-year-old played with this for a solid hour and only stopped because it was time for dinner. He adored it. He also poured it all down one side of his shirt and pants, and when I ran it under water nothing happened. I’m going to stick them in the washer and pray that works. But it was worth it.
I found this on pinterest. Thanks now I will be the best mom ever.
Hi!
So i’d love to do this, but i can’t find the “Borax”
Can i use something else or can you tell me where can i find it ?
Thank you 🙂
It is found at normal grocery stores with the dishwashing detergent or household cleaners. Or you can always get it on Amazon.com
we alway just mix it in the ziploc bag that way there is less chance of a mess and it is fun to squish the ingredients together through the plastic.
I just did a 1/4 batch to test to see if my non-Elmer’s glue would work. I used “Desk-Tech Stationery” brand and it was just labelled “White Glue”
It totally seized up instantly into slime – with NO excess liquid. But after I played with it for about 5 minutes (I’m 35! It is irresistible!) it suddenly started to lose elasticity and became sticky and more liquid again. Still slimy but not “I still have clean hands” slimy like it had been.