DIY Oobleck is a Fun Kids Science Experiment
Looking for a unique kids activity to keep them busy and entertained?
Try creating some gooey Oobleck as a classic science experience. In fact, your kids may have already made this at school, but it’s also a fascinating at-home activity for all ages.
Oobleck is affectionately named after the substance that fell from the sky in the Dr. Seuss story Bartholomew and the Oobleck and is a mixture of just cornstarch and water.
Curious about the science behind Oobleck?
According to Instructables.com, “Oobleck is a non-newtonian fluid. That is, it acts like a liquid when being poured, but like a solid when a force is acting on it. You can grab it and then it will ooze out of your hands. Make enough Oobleck and you can even walk on it! 😱
Hip DIY Tips:
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- Make this even more fun by using a few drops of food coloring or adding paint to the water first. I added a squirt of glow in the dark green paint as a fun variation or you could check out the powdered version as well!
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- When making, start by adding about 1.5 cups of cornstarch first, then add 1/2 cup more as needed.
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- Don’t have cornstarch on hand? Try this recipe using arrowroot or tapioca powder instead.
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- Oobleck is a fun, yet messy activity! However, just washing your hands and bowls with warm water will work. Just make sure it doesn’t get on the couch or carpet. You may want to even cover the floor or countertop where you’re doing this with a plastic trash bag or tablecloth for easy clean-up.
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- You can store Oobleck in a covered container and play with it again. If left out, it will just dry up.
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- Never toss an entire batch of Oobleck into the sink as a large amount can clog the drain. Simply throw Oobleck in the trash when done. I found it easiest to tip over the bowl in the trash and let it ooze out slowly, rather than trying to dig it out all at once.
DIY Oobleck
PrintSupplies Needed
- 1 cup water
- optional: food coloring or paint
- 1.5 - 2 cups cornstarch
Directions
1
In a bowl, add water. If using food coloring or paint, add into the water and stir.
2
Stir water and 1.5 cups of cornstarch together in a bowl. Add additional 1/2 cup of cornstarch if it’s still too watery.
3
Use your hands to finish combining the mixture until the texture is solid. Then if you grab it, it should run down your hands, changing the state of consistency as it’s played with. Have fun and enjoy!
Once you are done making Oobleck, have fun playing with it, and testing what it can do!
Jab at it using your fingers or a fist while it fills the bottom of a bowl and see how hard it feels. Then make a ball and squeeze to see it gush out like a liquid. I have to admit, even I had fun playing with Oobleck! It looks cool when you combine colors also.
Glow & Flow Fun!
So our glow in the dark painted batch of Oobleck didn’t glow super great on its own, but looked really cool when using a black light to shine on it! Overall this is a fun activity to consider. My kids are older and still enjoyed it!
warning- this is not the easiest to clean up, we made it at the preschool I work at
It does leave a certain film of cornstarch LOL if lots of spills – But maybe use a drop cloth or plastic table cloth? 🙂
That’s unfortunate! Weird. I found this remarkably easy to clean up. Especially, if dropped on carpet.
I took one look at those hands and said, “NOPE!”
Lol me too. Started feeling panicky. 😆
We’ve made this before (without food coloring) and it’s really fun. More fun than slime & fairly easy cleanup, in my opinion. Comes easily off hands & hard surfaces.
Hmmm maybe we’ll try this outside tomorrow 🤣🤣 the control freak in me is going to have a hard time watching my daughter with this indoors. Thanks for the idea!
Sure – yep I understand! Ha
We did this once and my son loved it! He played with it for hours. Not that bad to clean up either.
Thanks Tricia!
My kiddos loved this! Thank you for posting it
Oh good! Sure- thanks for coming back to let us know 💕
Make two bowls and take it outside and let the kids race to see who can carry the most in their hands and fill another container about 15 feet away. Make sure it’s far enough so it will start running from their hands. It’s hilarious if they don’t know what is about to happen.
You are so right! We do this every year at our Halloween party – a relay race for the kids. It runs through their fingers so they have to try to catch it with the other hand. It’s so fun to see how much actually makes it to the bowls at the end,
We love oobleck! One of my kids’ favorites. They will sit and play with it for hours at a time. So much fun!
Oh fun I’m glad they enjoy it!
I think I’ll wait until my kids are older and can helps with the crazy mess. Sounds so intriguing.
Ya it’s fun to try at least once. 👏ha
Pre-Covid, our local science center had a Mess Fest and I lost my mind 🙂 and took my daughter and one of her friends. At one of the stations they had two plastic kiddie pools full of it, thankfully sans food coloring. Everything was a mess, kids included. But it is a really cool substance (check out a video of how it reacts when place on a speaker) and if you don’t dye it it’s relatively clean-up-able and it’s safe.
I remember reading this book and making oobleck in 1st grade (many moons ago!) And we put it into an individual baggie for each kiddo so it was less mess!
Oh great idea – thanks for sharing!
That’s awesome 😎 I am inspired to print off a “recipe” for this, add a container of cornstarch + glitter and see if I can find some used versions of this Dr. Seuss book for a Little Library bag. So if you have a Little Library in your area, you can make a bag too. Just add an inexpensive craft that ties in with one of your used books or even a Dollar Tree new book (can be art, music or cooking themes) place in gallon size plastic bag and provide recipe or instruction card along with the book. I am a single parent and this is an inexpensive way for us to help other kids in the community and more fun than only dropping off/returning the books. 😀 Thanks for the post💞
Wow so awesome! Thanks for sharing!
Once you are done with the Oobleck, lay the container open and let it dry in the sun. These are the same ingredients as Holi powder. After the oobleck is dry, crumble it and then put it through a food processor or a blender and enjoy a color war.
This fun experiment is also a quick/drying and easy way to coat a cardboard cut-out or mold something. I made dinosaur cut-out targets to hit with water balloons. It’s was neat to see the product run once hit. Adding some some baking soda to the oobleck and filling the water balloons with lemon/white vinegar is also a great experience.