Table of Contents
How to make Oobleck
This simple oobleck recipe is so much fun! Pair it with Dr. Seuss Book Bartholomew and this sensory experience is double the awesome!
This non-newtonian fluid (both a liquid and a solid) is so easy to put together and a fun way to bring about a fun sensory activity.
Homemade oobleck is a cool science experiment that can be brought forth for little scientists whether in a school setting, homeschooling or just for fun!
This classic science experiment is sure to be fun for littles as they explore, delve into the gooey green substance and gain all of the benefits of:
fine motor skills
hand eye coordination
observational skills
.. all while bringing forth an easy science project that is sure to be fun!
What is Oobleck?
Oobleck is a non-newtonian fluid.
This means that this substance can be both a liquid and a solid.
If you’ve ever read Dr. Seuss’ Bartholomew and the Oobleck, you probably have an idea of what oobleck is.
But, for those of us that haven’t any idea what oobleck is, I will be sharing below the next best thing to bring forth with your preschoolers.
This easy activity only requires corn starch and water.
It is an easy way to bring about a homemade activity in your preschool classroom or homeschool classroom.
But, before we get into how to make oobleck, let’s talk about the Dr. Seuss book a bit.
An old king calls on his royal magicians to create oobleck to fall from the sky.
They come up with a ooey gooey consistency known as none other than – oobleck.
How to make Oobleck:
It’s green and slimey and this in turn covers the entire kingdom until one named Bartholomew saves the kingdom and all is back as it was.
To recreate something similar to the story, bringing out a plastic kiddie pool and a few of your littles toys is a wonderful idea.
Kids of all ages (3+) will truly enjoy this oobleck mixture.
If you can add this amazing book alongside the activity then it’s sure to be an awesome day!
How to Make Oobleck
Simple Ingredients:
1 cup of water
2 cups of cornstarch
drops of food coloring (green food coloring to make green oobleck)
big bowl or plastic bag
large spoon for mixing
measuring cup (optional)
Bartholomew and the Oobleck – Dr Seuss (optional)
Making a batch of oobleck is as easy peasy as 1-2-3.
The ingredients for making this gooey substance are all homemade ingredients.
This is lovely because, you may just have all of the ingredients in your kitchen cupboard – right now. 🙂
I love easy and fun activities like this one, that require homemade items.
How do you make Oobleck
Here are the step by step instructions we take in putting together gooey oobleck:
To begin making the oobleck mixture, set out a large mixing bowl or plastic container onto a table.
Add 2 cup of cornstarch or corn flour into the bowl.
Then, add 1 cup water into the same bowl.
You can totally mix this as is but if you’d like to add the green color or a variety of different colors, add a few drops of food colouring into that same bowl or plastic container.
It is time for mixing.
Use a spoon to mix the ingredients all together until you reach the right consistency.
The proper consistency to make newtonian fluids should act as both a liquid and a solid.
With a little too much pressure it will turn to a solid and without any pressure it will turn back to a liquid! 🙂
This fun hands on activity is an awesome sensory activity for the books! 🙂
How do you make Oobleck at Home:
If you make enough oobleck by doubling the ingredients, we love to add our oobleck slime within a sensory bin.
How do you make Rainbow Oobleck?
Rainbow oobleck is basically repeating the same recipe multiple times with different colors.
We like to use between 3-6 colors when making an easy and fun oobleck recipe.
Here are some sensory play ideas we love incorporating with our DIY oobleck:
How to make Oobleck without Cornstarch
Substitutions for cornstarch can look like:
tapioca flour
arrowroot flour
potato starch
The cornstarch particles may vary slightly so its best to add a little water and build as you go.
Eventually you’ll have a set of non-newtonian liquids made from the starchy flour alternatives.
As the starch molecules and water molecules work together you’ll be sure to make this weird substance we all love and turn it into a fun activity!
Plus, it’s a great way to learn about the state of matter oobleck brings, more on the liquid state, Newton’s law and the different states of matter.
We also love talking about the difference between hot and cold.
For example, when bringing forth the clean water it can either be warm but not too hot water or colder water.
When using the measuring cup we can test the different ratio of water or cups of water we need for this fun experiment.
And, children of all ages (3+) will also be gaining the benefits of this great sensory activity.
There are lots of different ways we can learn with this first science experiment for preschoolers and up!
How long does Oobleck last?
Storing oobleck is very easy!
Store either in a ziplock bag or airtight container.
This will prevent the oobleck from turning into a solid ball.
If by any chance it may have hardened a little bit, just add part water to bring it back to its magic mud consistency.
When your ready to toss it in the garbage bag, just throw it within the ziploc bag for an easy clean up.
Note: If this is your first time making oobleck, you may think of throwing it away in the sink and but this can clog it up (I may know this from experience 😉 ) so your best bet is to just toss it in the trash bin.
Storage time is short.
We use our oobleck throughout the entire day/afternoon and then toss it the next day in the morning.
Alrighty, I hope you loved this easy peasy walkthrough regarding the all amazing and wonderful – oobleck.
If you’d like the quick run down, it is 2 parts cornstarch to 1 part water.
Voila! Hope you enjoy this recipe with your littles whether it be last week, this week or next week. 🙂
More Science for Kids Ideas:
Leave a Comment