Science Experiments: Blue Goo--National Geographic Little Kids

You can make squishy, fun blue goo to play with. Ask your mom or dad to help you. This will be messy, so be sure to do it in the kitchen on old newspaper.

YOU WILL NEED

• Newspapers
• Mixing bowl
• Cornstarch (16-ounce [454-gram] box)
• Measuring cup
• Water
• Blue food coloring

HERE'S HOW

1. Pour a box of cornstarch into a bowl.

2. Add 1 1/2 cups (240 milliliters) of water.

3. Add about 15 drops of food coloring. You can also try this with different colors.

4. Mix it all together with your hands. Have fun squishing!

Photograph shows a girl mixing goo in a bowl

Photograph shows a bowl containing cornstarch, a measuring cup half filled with water, food coloring, and hands mixing Blue Goo in a bowl

COOL SCIENCE

The weird goo hardens in your hands when you squeeze it. It feels like a solid. When you open your hands, the goo feels like a liquid. It acts like both a solid and a liquid.

PARENT TIP: SCIENCE

Promote scientific thinking: Have your child develop a theory by predicting what may happen, and then prove or disprove it. After making blue goo, discuss the properties of liquids versus solids by asking your child to describe the differences between how water feels, how cornstarch feels, and how blue goo feels.

Photographs by Rebecca Hale

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