When I write up a project, there are two sets of instructions. There are the cover-all-the-bases instructions. where I tell you all the different ways to make something. Then there are the instructions I actually use for myself when I test a project. When I made the glow-in-the-dark slime you see in the picture, here is what I actually did:Materials
- borax (from laundry aisle of a grocery store)
- Elmer's™ non-toxic blue glue gel (sold with office or school supplies)
- Glow-Away™ washable paint (sold near tempera paint at Michael's craft store)
- water
- bowls or cups
- spoons
- measuring cups
- In one bowl, mix 1/3 cup glue with 1 cup water. I used a whisk, since stirring with a spoon was slow.
- Stir or whisk in about half a tube of the paint.
- Pour about half a cup of hot water into a cup or second bowl.
- Stir in borax until it stops dissolving (starts to leave some at the bottom). This makes a saturated solution without any measuring at all.
- Measure and mix 1/3 cup of the borax solution (the clear part, not the undissolved stuff at the bottom) with 1 cup of the glue/glow mixture.
- You can try to whisk this, but it's easier to use your hands.
- Activate the glow by holding the slime under a bright light. Any light works, but the brightest glow will come from a UV lamp (black light) or a fluorescent bulb. Turn out the lights!
- Wash your hands when you are done playing with your slime.
- You can store the slime indefinitely in a sealed baggie.
Photo: Ryan with glowing slime. (Anne Helmenstine)
Comments
We did this last week for class. The children were trilled with it. They are still playing with it 5 days later.
One suggestion: Put the paint in the water before putting the glue in. It worked very well that way.
Thank you for the recipe.
it didnt work for us and we used everything you said ;
Thanx the product works sooo well i love it but how can i make it last for longer? plz answer
thanx again
hope it works!
Hey I want to try your project and hope it works. I was wondering how many day or weeks does it last for? Please reply back. Let’s see if it is going to work.
The slime lasts indefinitely. My daughter has had some in a baggie for over a year.
To some extent, you can make it glow longer and brighter by exposing it to higher intensity light, such as a black light as opposed to sunlight or an incandescent bulb. To make it glow a lot longer, you need to use phosphorescent paint intended to glow a long time or tritiated paint, which glows because the tiny plastic spheres in the paint contain radioactive tritium.
Another alternative is just to keep a black light handy, since that will keep the glow charged.
I had a go doing this project and it went really well, I combined it with some cool glow cups, which really put a smile on the kids faces.
Hey, Im going to do a science project on making glow in the dark slime, but my question is how does all of this fun making of slime make this project scientific?
I need to know A.S.A.P!!! But one more thing would cornstarch or borax act as an atom and when you squeeze it hardens and when you dont and u open ur fingers its slimey i need to know what makes this project scientifc????A.S.A.P
How is it scientific? How is it not?
The Elmers glue in this case acts in the place of Polyvinyl alcohol (the ingredient in the “slime” toys that you purchase at department stores. The borax acts as the “linking” mechanism that links chains of PVA together to form a polymer.
This is the childs version of making nylon….which is one of the single most important chemistry discoveries ever!
When i conduct this experiment, I make the children use exact measurements. I make them record what they use, how much they use, and also what happens when they add the chemicals together.
I dont make the glow in the dark variety, but if I did, I could go on and on about how the light energy elevates the electrons to higher energy levels in the photo-reactive material. When the material is in darkness you can see those electrons giving off that energy as they move back down the energy levels.
So again…I ask…what is not scientific about it?
im doing that for my science expo i hope it works the way i want it too. Sencery hoping for an A…
So if I go outside in the dark will I see the glow?
I Didn’t Know What Borax Was. Lol. Thanks I’m Making Some for My Health Project. Hope It Works!
what is borax? and where i might find it?
You can find borax in a box by the starch at Wal-Mart, next to OxyClean and Shout stain sticks. It’s used as a laundry booster.
Do you know if I can use oxyclean instead of borax and will still work for this?
Thanks
HOPE IT WORKS BECAUSE IM DOIND THIS INFRONT OF CLASSSSSSSSSSSSSS
I hope it works, if it does not work I will sooooooooooooooo mad that I’ll cuss out my teacher if she gives a bad grade. Plus, I’m doing it in front of the class. And how long does it last ?????????? Yea…….you DID NOT mention that. Why didn’t you ??????
Hey how long do we put it over the light 4?!?!?! PLEASE i need the answer(:
hey so cool going to try it for my science fair experment
Thanks for instructions
Hi im doing a english project like a How to thing……. I was wondering if I can use this for MY project to. Is that okay?? Plz reply asap!!
How many students is this recipe good for?
When we make a full batch (1 cup of glue), it seems to make 10 good sized handfuls. So, I would say 10 students per batch.
Do you know how long this will last in an airtight container? Will it dry out? Thank you.
I think it works and I’am only 10
this ish better work
omg i really hope this stuff works!!!!
im useing this for my be the teacher lesson! i hope your estamit of ten is right.
Does This Really Work !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!????????????????????