How to Make DIY Slime

Slime, gak, flubber, oobleck. While these slippery, stretchy DIY science substances have been around a long time, they suddenly took the country by storm recently, with everyone from preschoolers to middle-schoolers mixing up and playing with these fun concoctions.
One note of common-sense safety: Even household substances can be toxic if consumed in large enough doses, so adults should supervise little slime makers to make sure ingredients go into bowls, not mouths. Here are a few recipes to get you started:
Basic Slime
4 ounces (½ cup) white or clear glue
1 tablespoon Borax (You can find it with the laundry detergent in most supermarkets.)
1½ cups water
Food coloring (optional)
Hand lotion
Step 1: Mix one cup of water and 1 tablespoon of Borax until it is dissolved. This is your “slime activator.”
Step 1: Mix glue and ½ cup water together in a bowl.
Step 2: Add a few drops of food coloring if you want colored slime.
Step 4: Pour the Borax solution into the glue mixture, stirring slowly.
Step 3: Use your hands to knead the mixture until it comes together, and pour off any extra water.
Step 4:  If your slime is too hard, you can knead in a few pumps of lotion to white glue slime for a stretchier consistency.
Step 5: Play with your slime!
Step 6: You can store slime in a plastic bag or airtight container in the refrigerator to keep it from growing mold.
Fluffy Slime
4 ounces (½ cup) white glue
1 cup plus one tablespoon water
1 tablespoon Borax
Food coloring (optional)
Shaving cream
Foaming hand soap or body wash (optional)
Cornstarch
Hand lotion
Step 1: Mix one cup of water and 1 tablespoon of Borax.
Step 2: Mix glue with one tablespoon of water.
Step 3: Add food coloring to glue mixture if desired.
Step 4: Add ½ cup of shaving cream (not gel) and mix.
Step 5: Add a ½ cup of foaming soap (optional) and mix.
Step 6: Add slightly more than 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. Mix thoroughly.
Step 7: Add two pumps of hand lotion to make your slime less sticky.
Step 8: Add 3 teaspoons of the Borax solution, stirring to combine. Continue adding it 1-3 teaspoons at a time until slime forms.
Step 9: Knead until slime is desired consistency. It should be marshmallow-like.
Step 10: If your slime needs more stretch, rub in a few more pumps of lotion.
Step 11: Have fun with your slime. Store it an airtight bag or container in the refrigerator.
Sparkly Slime
6 ounces Elmer’s Glitter Glue
½ tablespoon baking soda
1½ tablespoons contact lens solution (Use one with boric acid or sodium borate. This takes the place of the Borax as the “slime activator.”)
Step 1: Pour glitter glue into a bowl.
Step 2: Add the baking soda and mix.
Step 3: Add 1 tablespoon of contact lens solution.
Step 4: Mix until slime starts to form.
Step 5: Begin kneading slime.
Step 6: If needed to make slime less sticky, add more contact lens solution, ¼ tablespoon at a time.
Step 7: Enjoy your slime, and then save it in an airtight bag or container in the refrigerator.
Note: You can also make clear Basic Slime and knead in glitter.
Oobleck
Cornstarch
Water
Food coloring (optional)
Deep baking pan (optional)
Tools (see below)
1. Add 1 cup of cornstarch to about a ½ cup of water. (For a large batch, use 3 one-pound boxes of cornstarch and 4½-5 cups of water). Add a few drops of food coloring to the water first, if you like.
2. Mix the oobleck with your hands. If it is too dry, add more water. If it’s too soupy, add more cornstarch until it’s good and gloppy.
3. Poke the oobleck, pour it, pull on it, squeeze it, stir it, and see how it reacts.
4. Pour the oobleck into a baking pan to investigate it with tools such as an egg carton, bar of soap, paper clip, aluminum foil, drinking straw, plastic knife, craft stick, sponge, packing foam piece, bubble wrap, LEGO brick, small drinking cup and others you want to try.
5. When you’re all done your activity, you can save the oobleck for a few days in the refrigerator or throw it away in the trash or compost. Don’t pour it down the sink, because it will clog your drain!
Janine DeFao is an associate editor at Bay Area Parent.