Family Activity: Making Oobleck

When I cleaned out my pantry, I found three HUGE containers of Argo Cornstarch. Once O heard that we had enough cornstarch to have Thanksgiving gravy for the rest of the year, she demanded, “Let’s make Oobleck!”

This went on for a good two weeks until Michael and I finally had a spare moment to actually figure out what the heck Oobleck is.  Basically, what Oobleck is made up of 1 part water to 2 parts cornstarch. What it really is will be up for discussion.

 

The girls mixed up their own bowls of 1 cup water with two cups cornstarch. Then, they each put five drops of their favorite food coloring. Then the fun starts. When you first touch Oobleck, it feels like a liquid, but when you squeeze it in your hands it feels like a solid. You can slap it and pound on it and it goes from feeling like a solid to a liquid.

Solid. Liquid. Solid. Liquid. Solid. Liquid.

 

And it goes on and on and on. It actually is a lot of fun, though a bit strange feeling. But you won’t be able to stop putting your hands in it. And I can guarantee that you’ve got at least an hour’s worth of fun with this activity.

How to throw Oobleck out:  

Do not throw Oobleck out in our sink. It will clog it up. What you should do is pour it in some newspaper (the newspaper will soak up the liquid) and then put it in the garbage.

If you try this family activity out, please let me know what you think!