Doing Science to Make Fun Stuff

Ignite young children’s minds by helping them make and play with play dough and Oobleck.

Young children love to play with substances like clay and mud that can be touched, molded, and then broken down and re-molded.    Play Dough and Oobleck are two substances that preschoolers can make with a little support from adults or older siblings.  There is a lot of science to talk about while making them such as following a recipe, measuring, mixing, liquids, solids, and the process of change.  Once they make the substances, preschoolers can learn more science while using them, things like dividing, measuring, building, dripping, and so forth.

Oobleck

Oobleck has some very interesting properties.  It is a solid and a liquid, almost at the same time, depending on how it’s handled.  If you pick it up, it will drip from your fingers, then if you slap the pile that has formed from the dripping, it will become a solid.

Oobleck can be made quickly and easily. Mix one part water with 2 parts cornstarch, stir well, and start playing with it.  If it is too stiff, add a little more water; if it is too slippery, add a little more cornstarch. 

When you are finished playing with your Oobleck, you might try freezing it –  it will have some interesting properties as it thaws.

Play Dough

Store bought play dough provides children hours of fun while it helps them develop small motor skills and feeds their fantasy play.  By making their own play dough, they learn to follow a recipe, to measure, and to mix.  They need to plan ahead if they want to make different colors of play dough.  If they make play dough in primary colors, then they can explore mixing them to make secondary colors.