Glow-in-the-Dark "Silly" Putty - Upping the Polymer Fun

After tossing the grow-your-own-snow powder into our grocery cart, on our last shopping trip, I figured we might as well take the plunge, and pile in all the ingredients for the whole plethora of polymer experiments into the cart, too.  Meaning, I grabbed a bag of gummy bears, and a box of Borax to supplement the Jell-O, cornstarch, and glue we already had waiting at home.

We've played with polymers before, but homeschooling multiple ages means repeating lessons, and experiments multiple times over the years.  So, once again I covered the table in plastic, and filled cups with glue, water, and borax.

We followed Science Bob's recipe this time, which meant dissolving a teaspoon of Borax in a cup of water...

...mixing about an inch of glue in the bottom of another cup, with three tablespoons of water...

...then adding a tablespoon (or so) of the the Borax solution.

...to make slime.

Adding a second (or third) tablespoon of the Borax solution takes the mixture from slime to "silly" putty.

And, if you happen to have used glow-in-the-dark paint laden glue, instead of regular glue, to make your slimy putty...

...well, let's just say even my older "and so over slime" age children had to have some.



The paint we used in our glue was a latex based paint, which was okay for us, as we don't have any latex allergies in the house, and mixed in with the glue and borax, it didn't rub off on hands, clothing, or other surfaces. But, it did lend our slime a latexy smell, that I could have done without, no matter how cool I thought the glow-in-the dark comic prints were.

It's great to be a homeschooler.