The lazy days of summer are coming to a close. I can’t believe it’s already the last week of August – this month went by in a blur. While most people consider Labor Day weekend to be summer’s final event, there are still plenty of warm weather days in our future. I don’t know about you, but we want to soak up all the sunshine we can get, with some amazing outdoor activities. And one of our favorites this summer is this sensational sensory extravaganza…Frozen Goop!
Goop (otherwise known as oobleck) is a mixture of corn starch and water that forms a non-Newtonian fluid. A non-Newtonian fluid has the properties of both a liquid and a solid. If you squeeze goop tightly in your fist it will become a solid, but as soon as you relax your fist, the goop will run right out of your hand like a liquid. It’s super cool!
When our little nugget was just 11 months old, I made our very first batch of goop. She ended up sitting in the tub in just her diaper. And she enjoyed every minute! It sure was a messy day in our kitchen. π
In June, I came across this beautiful Frozen Rainbow Goop idea, over on Raising Kinley. Cara and her daughter had combined two of our favorite things (goop and rainbows) into one awesome activity! Cara actually found this clever idea over on Babble Dabble Do. While the frozen goop is featured on Ana’s website, you can also find it (along with 19 other fantastic preschool activities) in her book: STEAM Play & Learn.
Needless to say, we just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to play with goop in such a colorful and chilly new way! The frozen goop takes several minutes to warm up and begin melting down into liquid form, so we were definitely happy that we took Cara’s (Raising Kinley) advice to make a regular batch of goop to place in the bottom of our tray. We also took Ana’s (Babble Dabble Do) recommendation and created some art pieces using our frozen goop. It was an afternoon of sensory fun!
Frozen Goop
Supplies:
- Corn Starch
- Water
- Liquid Watercolors (or food coloring)
- Ice Cube Tray or Silicone Mold
- Tray or Cookie Sheet
Instructions:
- To make goop, combine two parts corn starch to one part water. I followed Ana’s recipe, from Babble Dabble Do: Combining 1-1/2 cups of corn starch with 3/4 cup water. Place the ingredients in a large bowl and mix until combined. It will be incredibly strange to stir, because when you apply pressure to goop it acts like a solid. Mix slowly!
- Divide the batch of goop into six small bowls or cups. Add one color of the rainbow to each bowl and stir to combine.
- Pour the colored goop into your silicone mold or ice cube tray. Place in the freezer overnight.
- When you’re ready to play with the frozen goop, mix up one more batch of regular (white) goop and pour it into the bottom of a tray or cookie sheet. Pop the frozen goop out of the molds and place on top of the white goop.
- Head outside and explore all of the sensory experiences that frozen goop has to offer!
Note: Goop clean-up is a breeze… just rinse off with water!
We played with our frozen goop for over an hour…mixing colors and stringing it into each other’s hands. And as with any of our sensory activities, it was only a matter of time before our little nugget had her feet in the tray too. π
She insisted that I try and bury her feet in the goop, and I happily obliged…because playing with goop is fun for kids of all ages! We also enjoyed scooping goop back into our silicone mold and turning it upside down to let all of the slimy strings drip back into the tray.
We can’t wait to make an even bigger batch of colorful frozen goop next time!
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