Goop (Cornflour + Water = Fun!)

This was one of our very first Show and Tell Weekend Projects. I found the link for some awesome Goop projects here.


You will need:

• 1 x 500g packet of Cornflour
• About 1.5 cups of water
• 1 large roasting tin, plastic tub or similar (we used a never-been-used cat litter tray)

Method:

1. Add the water to the cornflour slowly while mixing (which is so hard considering mixing cornflour is like mixing broken tiles), until you have a sort of custardy mix. If it does become too liquid, you will need to add more cornflour or just play with it for a while and the liquid will evaporate eventually.  I have even put mine under a fan for 20 minutes when I overwatered once and it evaporated really well.
2. Have the best time!

No pressure = Runny goo

Goop is amazing because when it is left it relaxes into an almost liquid state, you can pour it, swirl it and tip it from side to side, but when it is squashed, compressed or even hit it becomes immediately rock solid. (find the science behind it here).

What all that means is that kids can really get their hands into something completely mind boggling, messy (and yet not difficult to clean up!), non-toxic (it's completely edible even if tastes disgusting) and magical!

My son was 1 year and 2 months old and had almost as much fun as his 4 year old sister did. FINALLY someone let him play with spoons of liquid and pour stuff on himself without fretting. Bliss.

Pressure = Hard ball!

A quick video of the pressured vs liquid state:

We used a number of different kitchen utensils to scrape, scoop, smack and stir.

The clothes peg is a surprise success!

 

 

 When it's stringy like this it always reminds me of the "Blue Goo" from Dr Seuss' "Fox in Socks":


Yep, that's the stuff.

 Eventually after what must have been an hour of playing we realised the water in our cornflour had almost all evaporated, probably assisted by the children's body heat and constant movement.  I am sure you could add more water and start again, but I took it as our cue to bring the experiment to a close.

This return to a powdery form is also why goop is so easy to clean up. Once we were all finished I went over the room with a vacuum first and then wiped the rest away with a wet kitchen towel. Rinse and repeat.

Honestly, writing this blog makes me want to do it all over again tomorrow!  What a blast.  Clever Daughter actually said how lucky it was that it had rained and we had to stay home, because it was the best fun EVER.

This is a little video of our fun:

Some Crafty Kids think Gloop is:
Fun: 10/10
Educational: 10/10
Show & Tell-worthy: 10/10