An easy and quick DIY slime making technique to teach your kids

Slime making is an interesting activity for kids. Slime is a stretchable gooey substance that can be moulded only to lose shape eventually. In scientific parlance, slime is a polymer called a non-Newtonian fluid, meaning it can flow due to its changing viscosity. Being a typical polymer, slime is made up of flexible chains of cross-linked small molecules. Water fills up the space between these chains to make slime the wonder it is – more structured than a liquid yet less organised than a solid. Let the kids learn how to make slime in some simple steps.

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Ingredients required for DIY slime:

• All the materials needed to make slime are readily available. Let us first list them out.
• Borax powder. Alternatively, a contact lens saline solution can be used as it contains sodium borate.
• Water
• Glue; preferably white
• Spoon
• Bowl
• Measuring cup
• Optional items: food colour, essence, glitter, foam beads, glow powder

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Procedure to make slime:

For easy comprehension of kids and those interested in DIY slime, let us breakdown the process into well-defined steps:

1. Get slime solution ready: The different components are separately prepared.
2. Dissolve 1 spoon Borax in 1 cup water.
3. Mix ½ cup glue with ½ cup water and mix the additives like food colour, glitter etc. in a separate container
4. By varying the measure of ingredients, the stiffness or fluidity of the slime can be varied.
5. You can jazz up your mixtures by adding glitter, colour, and maybe some essence to make it aromatic. Certain pigment powders can make the slime glow in the darkness.
6. For first-timers, it is prudent to measure the components. With experience, estimation and accuracy along with the tendency to experiment shall come naturally.
7. Mix the slime solutions:  Once the solutions are ready as in step1, combine the two by stirring continuously.  Polymerisation starts immediately.
8. Finish the slime:  The result is a highly flexible polymer that stretches and flows. As you start working with more and more, it gets stiffer appearing almost like putty. You can mould it, but it loses its shape over time because of its viscosity. Slime should not be eaten, and it can stain surfaces exposed to it because of its ingredients. Store it in a container for future use as it can evaporate. It can even be stored in the fridge for longer life.

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Slime is a harmless polymer for kids to try out. They can learn about the properties of slime as how its fluidity is affected with temperature. The cold makes it less fluid and heat increases it. Slime is interesting as it flows like a thick liquid on its own, but resists when squeezed or punched.

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