Happy National Slime Day!
Did you know that SLIME has it’s OWN day? We love it! Your students love it! Though SLIME has been igniting kids’ (and adults’) curiosity since the 70s, National Slime day was established in 2022. Who knew??
Solid? Liquid? What is Slime?
The great debate about slime is it’s state of matter… Is a solid? Is it a liquid? Actually it is neither. Slime in scientific terms is what we call a non-Newtonian fluid. Meaning according to Newtons Law, slime is a substance that moves or reacts to pressure or force. What that means is that it feels like a liquid when you simply touch with no force or pressure. Then it transforms to a soft solid when it is moves by picking it up, squeezing it, and more.
Why SLIME with Your Students?
Admit it, as an adult many of us find playing with slime as a fun and interesting thing. But as teachers, we cringe at the thought of a classroom full of students loose with slime. I know when I started teaching, I did. Then I saw the excitment of the kids and their total engagement in the activity. Typically distruptive students were not an issue. Shy kids come out of their shell, at least for a little bit. Everyone got to make, play, and explore.
Educationally there are actually sensory development benefits for students when grabbing a blob of slime. Slime can be calming and create a distraction from tension or stress, if even temporarily. The repetive squezzing and moving of the slime in ones hands can promote relaxation of the mind. It can strengthen motor skills by exploring how it smells, feels, and looks. Playing with slime can also ignite curiosity and ignite the mind with wonder about “What if I … with slime?” “How will the slime react if I ….?”
On the scienctific front, slime connects with SCIENCE education as it can be used to explore states of matter, Newtons Law, reading and following directions, the scienfitic process of creating a substance, and math with ingrediant measurements.
If you choose to explore slime with your students, a fun fact to know is that VINEGAR will DISSOLVE slime by breaking down the bonds between the ingrediants. Storage is possible with an airtight container. Snack size ziplock baggies are the cheapest and easist way to send slime home with your students. But they have to push all the air out before fully sealing the baggie.
One last cool science slime trivia fact: there are species that naturally product slime to ward off predators. I won’t tell you which ones… Challenge your students to do the research! They will surely be surprised!!!
6 Popular Slimes
- Classic slime
- Radioactive (looking) slime
- Magnetic slime
- Glitter Slime
- Glow-in-the-dark slime
- Edible slime
RECIPE for SLIME
There are a variety of types of slime and different recipes available. While we at Activities to Teach are releasing our Slime Polymer activity packet in January 2024, we can recommend Home Science Tools and their FOUR slime recipes.
