There’s no better day of the year to learn about slime, goop, and fake boogers than April Fool’s Day! Watch out, though, because these experiments may a) make a mess of your kitchen table, b) be used by your kids for some gross-out pranks, and c) cause fits of uncontrollable giggles.
You can use a wide variety of ingredients to make slime, a collection of which are pictured here. You’ll want to make sure you have cups or bowls along with spoons or popsicle sticks to mix your concoctions together. Unfortunately, one of the most fun and ridiculous “ingredients” didn’t make the photo session: gelatin! But we’ll get to that later.
To really get into the “science of slime,” it’s great to start with a chart. Include a column to test out slimes with different ingredients, and then have your child(ren) come up with ideas of characteristics or qualities that the different kinds of slimes could have. We came up with slimy, sticky, and stringy to start with, but we left room to add more attributes as we actually began experimentation.
Now, experiment! Let your kid(s) try out whatever combinations of materials they want to! What happens to the slime’s consistency when they add more water? Less? Does the slime change if they stir it vigorously? What does it feel like? How does it spread? (You may want to cover your table, have the kids wear gloves, don aprons, whatever you need to manage your mess tolerance!)
As you experiment, fill in your chart. In our experiments we learned that, no matter how slimy, stringy, or sticky the slime was, all of our combinations were Fun!
And now for the April Fool’s Day pièce de résistance: boogers! For this you’ll need clear gelatin, sugar, green food coloring (not much! 2 drops!), and hot water. Gently mix all these ingredients together and within minutes you’ll see clumps forming. Pull out the clumps and – voila – boogers! Now all you need to do is fake a sneeze and your fake boogers will make an excellent April Fool’s Day prank!
Interested in more gross science experiments? Wondering why different kinds of slime look, feel, or behave the way they do? Curious about what boogers are actually made of and why the body makes them? Check out some of the titles on our booklist!