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It’s Slime Time – Green, Clear, Colored, Glow in the Dark and Creepy Mix-Ins to Spice Up Your Slime Recipe This Halloween

By Blog Editor Susan Wells

Halloween is less than 30 days away and we are getting fired up at the Spangler Labs. One of our most popular Halloween science recipes is for slime. We began years ago with Borax and Elmer’s Glue Slime, then added Cool SlimeGreen Slime, Shaker Slime, Glacier GAKClear Slime and Atomic Slime to our free Experiment Library. This year we’ve outdone ourselves and created an entire Slime Factory and incredibly cool color-changing Vampire Slime.

Green Slime

Slime is the perfect sensory activity or Halloween party activity but it is also a lesson in polymers. Many natural and synthetic polymers behave in a similar manner. Polymers are made out of long strands of molecules like spaghetti. If the long molecules slide past each other easily, then the substance acts like a liquid because the molecules flow. If the molecules stick together at a few places along the strand, then the substance behaves like a rubbery solid called an elastomer. Borax is the compound that is responsible for hooking the glue’s molecules together to form the putty-like material.

Glacier GAK Slime with Borax

Glacier GAK is made the traditional, kitchen science, do it yourself formula. Mix glue, Borax, food coloring and water to get a putty-like consistency. For the complete step-by-step directions, visit our Glacier GAK experiment. We added blue food coloring and mixed it with white glue putty for the effect in the picture above. You can mix up any combination of colors to make a rainbow of slime. This type of slime is more putty-like – highly recommended and fun to last an afternoon.There are several different methods for making this putty-like material. Some recipes call for liquid starch instead of Borax soap. Either way, when you make this homemade Silly Putty you are learning about some of the properties of polymers.

Colored Jelly Marbles Mix-Ins for Slime Factory

If you are looking more for the ooey, gooey boogery slime, we suggest you try using the clear Elmer’s Glue with the Borax or a Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) mixture to create the perfect slime. Don’t forget the mix-ins to create your special and unique concoctions like Bug Soup Slime with rubber bugs Fairy Slime with glitter, Lumpy Slime with Water Jelly Marbles or Water Jelly Crystals, or Slime Beads with styrofoam balls. Or go free and clear and make Snot Slime.  AH-CHOO!

Fairy Slime with Glitter

Our brand new Slime Factory – is 128 oz of slime along with all kinds of mix-ins and mixtures.It’s like visiting the frozen yogurt shop but with slime. What would make you happier as a kid than having an entire Slime Factory at your fingertips. The possibilities would have been endless with the limitless imagination of young slime-ologists. This is also perfect for a Halloween or Mad Scientist Birthday Party. Just line the kids up, give them a few pumps and then let them go crazy with the mix-ins.

Vampire Slime is also brand new to our product line this year. Vampire Slime looks green as its mixed up and then turns red in the light. This special mixture was created by Steve Spangler himself and is only available through SteveSpanglerScience.com. You will want to get your hands on this for Halloween.

Don’t forget to take time to learn the science behind slime. Scientists call substances like Vampire Slime non-Newtonian fluids. A non-Newtonian fluid behaves like both a solid and a liquid at the same time. When you apply pressure, it turns into a solid (so to speak) and breaks apart. You are breaking the polymer chains apart. When you let slime flow like a liquid, it stretches with no problem as the polymer chains are allowed to uncoil. And, in addition to all that fun chemistry, you get some amazing light science in the special dyes!

We’ve also created a collection of our favorite slime recipes found on Pinterest. There are some very creative bloggers who have come up with their own slime recipes and creations. A recipe for Rainbow Slime from Tot Treasures is a very popular Pin and we can see why. Visit the site for step-by-step instructions to make this very colorful slime.

Rainbow Slime from Tot Treasures

What is your favorite type of slime? Have you blogged or shared it in some way? We’d love to see what you are doing at Halloween or anytime to create the best slime mixture. Leave us a comment below.

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