Time for Some Exciting Science Experiments: Invite the Kids for a Fun Slime Making Session! Here's How to Make Slime from Borax (2019)

Slime was first manufactured by the Toy Giant Mattel in 1976. It feels exactly as it's name, like a slimey mess in your hands, and kids love to play with it! You can either be grossed out initially or take to it instantly, but there's something rather addictive about playing with this gooey stuff.

Slime became rapidly popular as a stress toy. After its introduction in the market of children’s toys, its popularity grew as it claimed to relieve the stress of mind and calm the nerves. By holding slime in the palm of the hand and squeezing it repeatedly, stress can disappear. It works on the simple principle of distracting the mind by giving you something else to fidget with. Doesn't that remind you of another popular toy that calms you down?

Slime’s attraction in the market grew as more and more people started using it to release pent-up emotions and tensions. Some found it very pleasurable to find it turn from a solid to a liquid and then back again. Little children love to play with slime because it feels gooey to touch and is fun to stretch. Since then, slime saw its entry into school science laboratories and became a popular science project for children because it was very easy to make. Slime is an easy experiment to explain kids about chemical reactions, polymers and viscosity. Over the past few years, the internet has been buzzing with how-to videos on making slime with different materials and color combinations.

It is fascinating to see how simple ingredients can turn into something totally different in just a few minutes. In this article, we shall read how to make slime from borax and also find out some important facts on slime.

It is fun to make slime from borax at home. The process is simple and the materials are very easily available in the market.

There are different types of slime recipes and addition of a few more ingredients gets you different types of slime. This recipe below teaches you how to make fluffy slime from borax.

So now that you know how slime is made, here are some important facts on slime that are quite interesting.

Slime is a polymer made by the cross-linking of small molecules to form different flexible chains. The space between the chains is filled with water and the resulting substance has more structure than liquid water and yet less structure than solid. It can be called a stage between solid and liquid and wouldn’t be wrong to call slime a ‘confused’ element.

When borax is added to water, it forms a solution called borate ion. This solution, when added to the second glue solution, helps the ions to make bonds between the long polymer molecules with each other so that they cannot move and flow very easily.

Slimes are a non-Newtonian fluid, which means that their ability to flow or their viscosity is not constant. It changes according to different conditions. One such example of a kind of slime is Oobleck, which is a non-Newtonian slime. It flows like a thick liquid and yet stops flowing when it is punched or squeezed. The appearance of slime can be changed by changing the properties of glue and slime. You can play with the ratio between the two ingredients to get different types of slime. Adding more borax or more glue, might make the slime more stretchy or thick.

There has been a lot of hype about the safety of slime owing to the presence of borax in it. Some people get skin allergies to different ingredients depending upon their skin sensitivity. Some people are allergic to borax and a slime made with borax might trigger allergies in them.

If slime is not eaten and not given to children who might put it in their mouth, then it is pretty safe to use. Consuming slime made from saline solution and borax can make people ill. Slime is generally non-toxic when made with borax. One should avoid eye contact, ingestion and prolonged skin contact from slime.

There are some other recipes to make slime without using borax too. You can use starch powder, baking soda, laundry detergents and contact lens solutions too, but their ingredients and recipes differ. You can try out other variations if you are particularly allergic to borax.

To store your slime, you need to keep it in a sealable plastic bag. It stays in best condition in a refrigerator or a in a cool place. There is no need to worry about insects swarming around your slime as borax is a natural pesticide. But chilling the slime in the refrigerator will prevent mold growth. The only problem with slime is drying as the water tends to evaporate. If sealed properly, slime does not get spoilt for a long time. Ensure that you don’t leave your colored slime on surfaces that can get stained by food coloring. Slime residue can be cleaned by soapy water.

Slime can be used as a stress toy because of its high level of flexibility. You can enjoy stretching it and watching it flow. The more you work on it, the stiffer it will get and eventually become like wall putty. It can be shaped and molded just like clay, but the only difference is that it will lose its shape soon.