Homemade Slime

I remember making homemade slime at the Maryland State Fair one year. It was an educational demo about plastics.

I was already in my twenties, but it was still fun to play with slime! Research for work, right? I took the recipe back to the school where I was working at the time, and they loved it.

Quick and Easy Homemade Slime

By Amy DeVries, June 30, 2017

This is a polymer which is a long chain of molecules. You need to blend two solutions together to create the polymer reaction.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 0 minutes
Yield: 1 adult palm full of slime

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. Elmer's glue (white glue makes opaque slime, clear makes translucent -- both are very pretty!)
• 3 Tbsp. water
• (optional) food coloring or a little glow in the dark paint if you want glow-in-the-dark-slime
• 1 Tbsp. Borax
• 2 Tbsp. water

Instructions

1. First mix the glue, 3 Tbsp. water, and any desired coloring. This is the glue solution.
2. In a separate container, mix the Borax and 2 Tbsp. water. This is the Borax solution.
3. Slowly mix the two brews together and agitate it to form the polymers. This could mean squishing them in a plastic bag or stirring with your hand in a tub outside.

In these photos, the white slime is made with Elmer's washable white school glue while the red slime and blue slime are made with Elmer's washable clear school glue so the colors appear translucent.

Mixing the patriotic red, white, and blue slime

 It's not very messy once the polymers have formed. Here you can see the white is totally mixed up and the red and blue are still very runny around the edges. A little more mixing and stirring with the hand and it holds together more.

Add glitter for some sparkle

We added a couple of sprinkles of glitter to the slime after it was formed. At least it won't end up all over the house when it's stuck in slime!

Ready to give as a homemade birthday gift

We put the patriotic slime into sandwich bags for a homemade birthday present for a friend who was turning 5 years old. He loved it!

This putty will keep for a very long time if you store it in a container that seals well. It becomes harder as it dries out.

Non-Toxic Goop

For something safer for the youngest children yet still fun for older ones, slowly mix water into cornstarch in a bowl. Add food coloring if desired. It feels hard if you touch it quickly and liquid if you touch it slowly! Roll a ball in your hands and watch it melt.

This is a good outside activity. It will leave an easily washable powder on clothes.

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