This activity brings me back to my teaching days (which aren’t that long ago haha), but I did this experiment with my first graders when we were learning about states of matter. Oobleck is considered a non-Newtonian fluid - It will act like a liquid or a solid depending on the force acting on it. This activity also pairs with the Dr. Seuss book, “Bartholomew and the Oobleck”. For older kiddos, read the story and then do the activity for a great literacy connection.
We first tried this with Riley when she was 5 months old as a tummy time activity. She dipped a finger in here and there, but was overall unimpressed. This time around Riley eagerly dived in.
She would try to grab at the oobleck and put it on the plastic table cloth underneath. She let her hand become fully submerged in it, pulled her hand out, and watched the oobleck drip off. Half way into the activity, I placed a fresh water tray down next to the oobleck tray so that Riley could clean her hands off. Riley loved it! She splashed most of the water out so I had to refill the water tray. She then started mixing the oobleck into the water. She would grab a fist full and then splash it into the water! Everything was soaked by the end of the activity. Riley would have continued, but it was lunch time. She didn’t even try to eat it which is surprising because Riley tries to eat everything!
##Oobleck ingredents - water, cornstarch, food coloring ##
For Riley, I created the oobleck and then gave it to her to play with, but with older kids like my first graders, I let them make it. Start with 2 cups of cornstarch. If you plan on using food coloring, add it to the water first. Add 1 cup of water to the cornstarch and begin mixing. It will have a thick consistency and will be difficult to mix. If you poke at the oobleck quickly, it should act like a solid and resist your finger from submerging into it. If you gently rest your finger on the surface of the oobleck, it should act like a liquid and allow your finger to submerge smoothly below the surface.
While your child is playing, don’t forget to get down on their level and play with the oobleck with them. Talk about what it feels like and what you are experiencing-tying in that language development. I hope your child enjoys Oobleck as much as Riley did!
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