Homemade Slime for Kids: How to Make Borax-free Gak Dough! by 30Seconds Mom

It’s slimy when you hold it loosely and solid when you squeeze it; you can make a handprint and watch it disappear! Like Oobleck, Gak slime is another interesting non-Newtonian fluid for kids to investigate. They can make impressions with their hands, figurines or other hard waterproof items and then watch their imprints disappear right before their eyes! Gak slime is only for children who understand not to taste the Gak slime or touch their mouths while they play.

To make Borax-Free Gak dough you'll need:

• 2 1/4 cups cornstarch
• 1/2 cup shampoo (thick gel-like shampoo works best)
• food coloring or liquid watercolors (optional)
• 6 – 9 tablespoons water

Here's how to make it:

1. Place 2 1/4 cups cornstarch into a bowl or container.
2. If coloring your slime, mix food coloring or liquid watercolors into the 1/2 cup of shampoo until combined.
3. Add shampoo mix to cornstarch and stir to combine it well. The mixture will appear crumbly.
4. Add the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing thoroughly to distribute the water each time. You want to add enough water that a rolled portion of dough forms a ball that “melts” if you hold it in your hand. I find that the difference between Gak slime that holds a ball and Gak slime that holds a ball that melts is around 1 tablespoon of water.
5. Once you have a nice shiny dough that holds together in a ball, but also slowly melts in the absence of pressure, you’re ready to play! Keep in mind that the dough may dry out as you play. If this happens, just wet your hands with water and keep playing. The amount of water on your hands should be enough to rehydrate the dough.
6. Add 1/4 teaspoon of water to the dough and store it in a sealed container. The water will help keep it from drying out before you’re ready to play with it. The dough will keep for several days at room temperature.
   

Troubleshooting: Be sure that you can roll it into a ball and pick it up. If it is too watery, add more cornstarch. If it is too crumbly, add more water. If the dough has sat out overnight or longer, you may find that you need to rehydrate it. You can rehydrate it by wetting your hands and kneading the dough. Be sure to do this between each play time to ensure that the dough is rehydrated and ready to play with.

Excerpted from 150+ Screen-Free Activities for Kids© 2014 by Asia Citro, Med, and published by Adams Media, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. Used by permission of the publisher. All rights reserved. Photography by Asia Citro - FunAtHomeWithKids.com

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