How To Make Oobleck

The other day while we were making DIY Wallpaper Paste, the youngest decided she wanted to do an “experiment”.  With the cornstarch already out, I suggested we make Oobleck. 

Oobleck is a gooey, solid-liquid type substance that was apparently named after the Dr. Suess book “Bartholomew and the Oobleck“.  It’s a non-Newtonian fluid, which means that under pressure it acts like a solid, but when you release the pressure, it acts more like a liquid.

So here’s how to make it:

Oobleck

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 1-2 cups cornstarch
• Food colouring

Instructions

1. Mix several drops of food colouring into the water, until you reach the desired shade.
2. Stir the water into 1 cup of cornstarch. Add more cornstarch to reach a solid consistency when you stir. The mixture should look like a liquid when you're not stirring it.

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It’s so much fun!  Check out the video below of the Oobleck we made.  We mixed the food colouring in AFTER combining the water and cornstarch, which is why there are flecks of unmixed colour.