By Pamela Maynard

Do you need a gross, sticky, slightly messy project to do with your kids for Halloween?  This simple and fun chemistry experiment has a slippery end result that kids love.  Slime is a material you and your children can make with a few common household ingredients.  It only takes about 15 minutes.  It’s so easy, even a 3 year old can do it.  It’s easier to clean up than play dough and much more fun than finger painting!

What you need:

• White Elmer’s Glue
• Borax Powder
• Food coloring
• Water
• Teaspoon for stirring
• Jars or cups for mixing
• Kids

Let’s Make Slime:

1. Mix a teaspoon of Borax powder into a cup of water, set aside
2. Mix equal parts Glue and water in a jar or paper cup and stir well
3. Add a few drops of your favorite food coloring and stir well
4. Now add the water with Borax mixed in. 
5. This is the fun part: you can use your spoon to start, but it’s more fun to get your hands in there, mix it up and squish it around until you can pull it up with your spoon, like taffy.

Fun things to do with slime:

• Squish it between your fingers or toes
• Roll it into a long snake and make letters
• Scare your mom or sister with it
• Stab holes in it with a plastic fork (protect your table first!) and watch the holes melt away
• Experiment with different types of glue, more or less water or a combination of colors.  What happens?

Things not to do with slime:

• Drop it on carpet
• Eat it (it’s not toxic, but it’s not good for your either)
• Get it on the couch (not tragic, but inconvenient.)
• Leave it out. (Store your slime in a Ziploc bag in the fridge.)  If you leave it out, it will mold.

Note:

Be sure to buy Elmer’s glue.  Some other school glues do not have the same composition and may not work.

Be sure to do the project in the correct order.  If you put the food coloring in last, you will wear it all over your hands.