Monday, December 22, 2008

Make Your Own Silly Putty and Slime

My son uses Silly Putty as a tool to minimize nervous tics. He carries an egg full in his pocket just about everywhere we go. If he is having difficulty sitting still or quiet he will pull it out and play with it. He has even been kind enough to share it with younger children in church who are having difficulty sitting still.


"B" letting it stretch.




Yesterday I was inspired to learn if I could make a Silly Putty substitute at home. I found many recipes and decided to try it. Actually, my older son wanted to do it. Who am I to interfere with initiative? He located all the necessary tools and made it. It was real neat and I have to admit that I had a hard time not getting in on the action of squishing that fantastic gooey stuff.



The recipe we used was:

1/2c water
1/2c Elmers Glue
Mix well.

In a separate container
1c warm water
2tsp. Borax
Mix until dissolved.

Add 1/2c Borax solution to the glue solution and mix, mix, mix. It will immediately begin to change.

Initially we did not know the proportions to use and used equal amounts of each solution. It was much slimier.

My son asked if we could us a gel glue to create a transparent version. I learned that you can use Elmers Gel Glue which has a very light blue tint.

The boys played with it most of the day and were interested in learning how two liquids become a liquid/solid. They stretched it, pounded it, bounced it, spread it, broke it, cut it, rolled, flattened it, molded it, watched it flatten slowly into a shiny pool of gunk and more. It changed shape much faster than Silly Putty which made it more interesting.

The putty became more firm and less jiggly after it sat in a zipper bag over night.

Click here to watch a great video and quick explanation by Steve Spangler of the science behind polymers and linking molecules to create this awesome substance.

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