Making Flubber

This afternoon after Alexandra's quiet time she wanted to do some activities together so I tried to find something that we could do spontaneously since I didn't really plan anything. So I was looking around Pinterest and saw a recipe for Flubber and thought it would be fun to make.

I did the mixing of the ingredients because there is a small amount of Borax in it. I did find the recipes on preschool websites, a preschool You Tube Channel and homeschooling sites so I figured it would be safe to make.  I only had Alex play with it for a short while and then wash her hands really well with my help when we were done just to be on the safe side. She is old enough to know and understand my directions to not eat it or put it near her face. I was still very cautious when having her use it. I thought it would be a neat sensory and science experiment for her. It was fun to play with! She was amazed by  how it stretched, went back to shape, bounced, and just would take the shape of whatever container it was in.

Here is the recipe I followed to make the Flubber (as found on Frugal Fun Challenge) although I cut the recipe in half and it still made a lot for just the two of us. The recipe below is going by my halved measurements.

Flubber

Mixture 1:
3/4 cups wamr water
1 cup Elmer's Glue (2 bottles)
food coloring

Mixture 2:
1 1/2 tsp. Borax
1/2 cup warm water

Directions:
Stir mixture 1 together in a bowl. Add food coloring to the mixture of glue and water after it is combined.
Stir mixture 2 in another bowl (I used a liquid measuring cup)
After mixing both mixtures well, pour mixture 1 into mixture 2, or vice versa.

You may think that it's going to be too runny but after stirring for a few minutes the two mixtures will come together and form a blob of Flubber! It's actually a chemical reaction that occurs that forms the Flubber.

I did let Alexandra squirt the glue into the measuring cup

 I also let her squirt the food coloring into the glue mixture

 Mixture 1: pink on left

Mixture 2: cloudy mixture on right

 When you mix the two together you get Flubber! 

Time to Play!!!!

Believe me that this Flubber was not just fun for Alexandra - I had fun with too...and so did my husband when he came home from work. In fact, we all sat down and played with the Flubber and Oobleck we made today (and I made Alex wear rubber gloves - am I totally paranoid or what??) After doing these two experiments and seeing the excitement in Alexandra's eyes I think I want to do some more science activities with her!