I just love doing science experiment with my class! It is a joy to see the wonder in their eyes. I also get a kick out of the questions they ask and how they see science as ” magic”. If you had passed my classroom today you would have heard a loud chorus of ” ooh…”, “wow” and ” yuck”. That’s corn flour slime for you:)

All you need is the following items from your pantry: That’s 4 tablespoons of corn flour, a bowl, a spoon and some water (about 3 tbsp.).

Slowly stir in water, a tablespoon at a time, until it all comes together. Be cautious with the water as adding too much will ruin the experiment. Stop as soon as it comes together.

Now try and stand your spoon up in it. It seems solid! Scoop up a bit and squeeze it.

Let go and see what happens!

Here’s the science 😉

Corn flour does not dissolve in water. It creates a suspension.When water is added it flows around each starch grain and makes the mixture runny.

When you squeeze the mixture and exert a force the starch grains come together and temporarily squeezes out some of the liquid that had allowed the grainsto move freely. The mixture now becomes “solid”.

When you stop squeezing the water surrounds the starch grains again and it becomes liquid!

Here is a work sheet that your budding scientist can use to document his/her experiment.

Click here to download

Note:

This is not as messy an experiment as it seems! I would not do it unaided with 29 children if it was! The mixture will easily wash out of the bowl when you immerse it in water. If children get in on their clothes or on the table just allow it to dry. It will then turn to powder that can be swept or hoovered up.

This would be a great “Rainy Day” activity. Try adding some food colouring to it. Green would be good!

Have fun, Miss Mernagh 🙂