SlimeThis page will prove most useful to Science teachers who might be looking for
exciting and new demonstrations to use in their classrooms. The recipes that appear
on this page are all tried, tested and guaranteed to work.
All demonstrations are very exciting to the students! Try them!
Slime Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA powder) Note - Obtain highest molecular mass possible, about 100000 works best.
Water - Keep about 80 degrees C
Slowly dissolve powder into warm water. Needs to be quite concentrated to work well. Try various concentrations.
PVA powder takes some time to dissolve, so prepare well in advance. The day before if possible. The gelling process works best when the solution has cooled.
Take a small amount of the PVA solution and add to it a bit of borax solution (available at the supermarket).
Different concentrations of borax will gel differently, so experiment with the mixtures to find one that works. We have done it with different concentrations successfully. Bucket chemistry at it's finest!
Dye can be added to the solution before it sets to colour things up.
It gels to form a polymer slime, that kids (and university student teachers!) love to play with.
ENJOY!!
Start by mixing Corn Flour and water (cold only, otherwise it will turn into dough) in a ratio of 3 to 2 (1.5 Kg of flour, 1 litre of water)
Add some colour for looks, and to tell which group made the mess in the lab.
Mix it well, it may take about 10 minutes to do this.
The resulting mixture has both liquid and solid properties therefore when force (like a punch) is applied, the flour particles are not able to move apart and the substance reacts like a solid. (Similar substances : quick sand)
If you put your hand slowly into the mixture, it sinks into the liquid. However, you cannot remove your hand quickly. (Without lifting the whole bowl )
Students love playing with this.
For younger years, a story about a new planet in space, with a surface made of this substance works to get them interested in what properties Oobleck has. Oobleck is the name of the planet by the way.
HINT: Ask the students to design a vehicle capable of moving across such a planet.
HAVE FUN!!
