GLOOP: Sensory Magic with Just 2 Ingredients!

gloop gloop

I normally don’t love messy sensory activities but our preschool teachers highly recommended we try this cornstarch and water combo otherwise knowns as “Gloop” or “Oobleck” (as you guy noted – 83 times, ha).  Turns out it’s a pretty crazy unique solid/liquid substance that will keep your kids and you enthralled. 

WHAT YOU’LL NEED: 

SET UP: 
Gently pour two cups of cornstarch into your container (dumping it will cause a “poof” of cornstarch you probably don’t want to inhale).  Add less than a cup of water or about 3:1 ratio.   For an optional color,  use 2-3 drops of food coloring (any more and your hands are green for the day!)  It’s also really helpful to have a bowl of warm water for them to rinse hands and “reset”.  

QUICK RECAP/ SCIENCE LESSON:  
Gloop is a non-Newtonian fluid which means it changes state depending on the force.  It looks like a liquid until you press on it or dig into it.  This is because cornstarch does not dissolve in water.  So if you ball it in your hands, it forces the water molecules inside and gets hard.  If you let it go, the long starch molecules will slip past the water and really drip down like a slimey goo.  

CLEANUP: 
Gloop (OK, fine, Oobleck) easily wiped off the table, but it was a little trickier to scrape off our concrete outdoor floor (I’d maybe recommend a tarp/shower curtain).  Do NOT dump the mixture down your drains.  We let ours settle 1 hour and I poured just the liquid into our sink and scraped everything else into the trash.  Definitely worth it, but you may never want to smell cornstarch again…



Elle Walker is a co-founder at What's Up Moms and the mom to three kids (10, 7, 5). In her spare time, she loves testing out kids activities (often muttering, "Pinterest, you lie"), to find the best activities that minimize set-up, reduce costs, and uses stuff up around the house. Follow her behind the scenes at Instagram @whatsupelle. {{Privy:Embed campaign=591322}}