Oobleck

Science is a fascinating and exciting subject and I enjoy experimenting in this subject matter with my son. I am always researching new scientific experiments and today I decided to do "Oobleck". All the websites I consulted  had wonderful reviews and it sounded quite fun.

The recipe says you need just 1 cup of water and 2 cups of cornstarch, and food colouring. I wanted my son to explore this process as much as possible, thusly I provided a few kitchen utensils for him to play with it, and discover many different types of shapes and artwork he could obtain with the experiment. I also had an idea to take a cardboard box (cheerios box opened) and place it beside him to create a craft with the Oobleck.

My son put the water in the bowl and added 2 cups of cornstarch slowly, stirring it all the time.

The mixture became hard instantly as soon as we finished pouring the second cup of cornstarch. My son found it difficult to stir with the spoon and used his hands. I told him to play with it whilst describing me what it feels like. He said that it felt good to touch it and it was soft!!!!

Afterwards we added food colouring to the mixture. First we put 4 drops of the red colour and he mixed. Then we put the green colour and he mixed it as well. After mixing the green colour it disappeared and we obtained a light pink texture.

Furthermore he tried the kitchen utensils to make shapes from it. He managed to make inchworms with the masher, and he also made rain and spaghetti with the grater.

My son put the kitchen utensils aside and was really surprised how fast they dried, and  hardened almost instantly as he removed it from the Oobleck solutions.

Moreover, he got his hands in his art creation :)!!!. He added more food colouring, poured the mixture on his hands and onto the cardboard. He also used the spoon and the measuring cup to design an artwork.

I asked him to punch the Oobleck and it didn't move at all, it was super hard. Then the put his finger inside and told me it was like a volcano exploding when he took it off :)))!!!

We mixed more green and yellow food colouring and his creation began to look really beautiful. He enjoyed pouring it into the cardboard and make something out of the Oobleck.

After minutes creating the craft, he finally finished. The picture below shows his wonderful design :))).

We set the picture aside to show daddy when he would arrive from work. Nonetheless, my son couldn't contain his anxiety of touching it. Hence, I suggested him to smash it. I was so so pleased to observe my son using his imagination to play with the Oobleck. He was having a good time, playing for approximately 20 minutes as "Bob the Builder", as well as building roads and space rockets. He also didn't let me throw away the mixture when he finished playing as he wants to continue playing with it.

What a brilliant experience!!!!!! I asked many questions to my son to make him think about what he was doing, and his feeling about the experience. I also taught him about liquids and/or solids depending on the pressure applied. My approach to helping him learn is to comprehend the science behind this experiment which was by comparing action of punching and touching via punctures gently. When he punched the mixture it didn't move, it was as if he was hitting a wall, whereas when he touched it gently it was liquid. 

An amazing, inexpensive, educational and fun activity to experiment with your child. I highly recommend!!!!! Thanks :)))))