Have you made slime yet? It’s a science experiment and sensory activity rolled into one! My kids love to help make it and I find that it’s the perfect activity for after school or quiet time. This sparkle slime recipe glitters and shines so is fun addition to pretend play or small worlds.
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Sensory activities or sensory play are just things that stimulate all of the senses and help kids’ brains learn about their world. Exploring different properties of matter by playing with slime can be an amazing lesson for kids that actually helps them begin to problem solve and think critically. Plus it’s a great way to unwind and decompress after a busy day!
Sparkle Slime Recipe
- 2 bottles clear school glue
- any color liquid watercolors
- glitter
- 1 cup liquid starch
Pour both bottles of clear glue to a bowl or container. Next add the glitter. Let the kids add as much as they want–it will be stuck in there and not all over your house or classroom. Sparkle slime is a great way for non-glitter lovers to use it without the mess.
Then add the liquid watercolor. Choose any color you want and tint it to your liking. Black sparkle slime would be really cool so if the kiddos go crazy with multiple colors there it’s okay. Experimenting with the ingredients is STEAM learning at its best!
Once you are satisfied with the color and the sparkle factor you can add the liquid starch. Use a wooden spoon to mix it all together. It will start to congeal and form a polymer. At that point you can keep stirring or start kneading it with your hands. The more you knead it the less sticky it will be. If you aren’t quite satisfied with the texture you can adjust now–more glue will make it stickier and more liquid starch will make it firmer.
Then get ready to play and explore! Start by letting kids feel and squish and mold it. Then you can add in plastic toys, cookie cutters or even scissor for cutting.
The only thing I would caution you on are toys with hair like ponies or dolls. The slime can stick to their hair and be hard to get out. If that happens using vinegar can break the polymer chains and help get it out. LEGO bricks
or minifigures
or small plastic toys
are the easiest to add in and require no extra cleaning.
If your kids love slime then they will also adore making homemade silly putty!
Don’t let the fun and discovery stop there!
We have TONS of science experiments your kids will love on our Super Cool Science Experiments for Kids page!
Take me to the experiments –> Super Cool Science Experiments for Kids
The sparkle slime recipe FAILED! I used two 5 ounce bottles of Elmer’s Clear Liquid Glue and followed instructions to the letter. Perhaps if you note the SIZE of the glue bottles that would help? We tried everything to get it to congeal – adding more starch and finally using an electric mixer but nothing worked. Wasted a lot of time finding all the ingredients and money purchasing them. 🙁 Thank you for taking the time to create such a net website, but please be clearer on the exact ingredients so others won’t have disappointed little ones like I did. Thank you.
That is the correct amount–the two 5 ounce bottles that are linked in the post. The electric mixer wouldn’t work for slime. Did you use liquid starch? If you used these measurements I would guess that you need to knead it longer. Sometimes humidity plays a role but after kneading with your hands it should not be anywhere near the consistency where a mixer would work. If you happened to take photos feel free to email them to me and I’ll see if I can troubleshoot! 🙂