How to Make Slime

Making Glow in the Dark Slime

2009-09-06T05:14:00.001-07:00

Slime that glows in the dark is a lot more fun than regular slime! It is also really easy to make.

Use the regular slime recipe but instead of using food coloring use a glowing paint. There's one available in most handicraft stores.

The one I use is called "Gooey Glow" and came in a 4oz container which will make an awful lot of slime. There's another product called "Glow Powder."

Mix up the slime as normal, then add the glow powder instead of the coloring. Hold the slime under a bright light for a couple of minutes, then switch off the light!

Making Edible Slime

2009-09-02T01:46:00.000-07:00

Although the previous recipe makes an impressive slime, it certainly isn't edible and needs to be kept away from younger children. Here's one that's safe and can even be eaten. It tastes, well, interesting. A bit like sweetened condensed milk in fact.

You will need:

1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon cornstarch
¼ teaspoon food coloring

Tip the condensed milk and cornstarch into a saucepan and cook slowly, stirring constantly. Once it thickens, remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Add the food coloring and stir well until you have an even colored slime. I normally use red or green coloring, but you can use any color.

Allow to cool before letting the kids loose!

It won't keep well so either refrigerate for a day or two or discard if it hasn't all been eaten.

How to Make Slime Video

2009-08-29T10:11:00.000-07:00

Here's a video showing the slime making process and the end result. The slime at the end of the video will need to be worked a bit more to make it stiffer but it shows the polymerization well.

Make Slime at Home

2009-08-28T05:45:00.000-07:00

This recipe is dead easy and can be done at home, even if you flunked Chemistry 101.

You will need:

*1 teaspoon of Borax. The regular laundry kind.

*Water.

*Some white glue. This is sold under various brand names including Elmer's(tm).

*Food coloring or tempera powdered pigment.

How to make it:

Mix the Borax with about a cup of water and stir well. It needs to be completely dissolved. Stir it some more if you aren't sure. Put this aside for a minute.

Mix about half a cup of the white glue with an equal amount of water. Add in the coloring (unless you are happy with white slime, but what's the fun in that?) and stir until you get a uniform mixture.

Now comes the fun part. Pour the two mixtures together into a single bowl. The mixture will begin to polymerize almost immediately.

Huh? Hold up. I failed Chemistry 101 remember?

Polymerization is pretty simple really. It is the process of reacting monomer molecules together in a chemical reaction to form three-dimensional networks or polymer chains. To put it another way, single molecules get together and form long molecules in the form of... well, slime.

Since the mixture is now officially slime, it is going to be hard to mix with a spoon, so get your hands in there and give it a good squish. There will probably be some water left over, so wring out the slime and tip the excess water down the sink. The more you work it, the stiffer it will become, so go easy on the squishing.

A note on safety. It isn't particularly dangerous stuff but don't get it near your eyes, don't eat it, and don't leave it anywhere small children or pets might get to it. And don't leave it lying on any surface that might be stained. Keeping it in a plastic tub is best.

How to Make Slime

2009-08-28T05:42:00.000-07:00

Welcome. This blog will cover making slime at home using common materials, and a little about the chemistry of slime itself. Happy slimeing!