Slime is one of our favorite things. We make it at least once a week. Even though the price of glue is now sky high, we still make slime because it is such a wonderful sensory activity that has a foot in the science classroom, too! Whenever I make slime, I’m pretty much guaranteed a meltdown-free afternoon, plus it’s an activity that all of my kids can enjoy in their own way! This time, we decided to do something a little different with our slime. Rather than just stretch it, the kids decided to see if they could blow slime bubbles and transform their slime into a whole new sensory experience. And as it turns out, there is a lot of science that goes into making a slime that can get thin enough to blow like bubblegum, so this slime bubbles science project was a win-win for all!
* This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience. Click here for my full disclosure.
Slime Bubbles: Science and Sensory Fun
We love finding activities that mix science and sensory fun. My kids will always be willing to try out some new sensory play, and I love that we can sneak in a science lesson at the same time!
What You’ll Need to Make Slime Bubbles:
For our clear slime recipe, we always use one part water, one part laundry starch, and one part glue (with food coloring added). However, it doesn’t always turn out right away. Some days, we have to let it sit for about five minutes before the slime has the right texture, which is particularly important if you want to use it to blow bubbles.
How to Make Slime Bubbles
For this version, we mixed 1/2 a cup of glue, 1/2 a cup of water, and food coloring. When that was mixed, we added 1/2 a cup of laundry starch.
Mix with a fork until you have to mix with your hands, then stretch it and play with it. The more you play with it, the better it will be for slime bubbles.
It will look like this when it is ready to make bubbles.
Stretch out the slime as thin as you possibly can, then blow it gently to form the bubbles. If you’re lucky, you can pinch the end close and have a bubble that sticks around a while!
What Kids Learn by Making Slime Bubbles
We’ve made a lot of slime, so we already knew that to get to the consistency of slime we needed for this project, we had to use clear glue. Other types of glue just won’t work as well for making slime bubbles. The clear slime comes out stretchier and less breakable than slimes made with other glue. The kids also learned that ratios are important for slime, particularly if you want to use it for a specific purpose. Use this recipe to teach little ones all about polymer chains.
Looking for more STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) projects and inspiration?
Looking for some more STEAM inspiration that use can use right now? Instant gratification style? Check out STEAM Kids: 50+ Hands-on Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, & Math Hands-On Projects for Kids ebook! It’s packed full of a year’s worth fun learning activities that will wow the boredom right out of your kids.
For More Adventures in Science Learning, Check Out:
Pingback: 20 Fun and Easy Slime STEM Fair Projects