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Water Gel

Name: Water Gel - Sodium Polyacrylate
SKU: GWATERGEL
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4.50 (3 reviews)

Sodium Polyacrylate Gel

Rated 4.50 out of 5 based on 2 customer ratings

(3 customer reviews)

Make water disappear like a magician
This superabsorbent polymer powder soaks up 500-800 times its weight in water
Turns from a powder to gel in just seconds
Discover the secret powder used in diapers!

SKU: WATERGEL (100 g Bag) 1LBWATGL (1 lb Bag)

NOW AVAILABLE IN A TEST TUBE AND STARTER SET

Frequently Purchased Together

Water Gel Magic Slush Powder

Make Water Disappear Like a Magician

With our Water Gel Sodium Acrylate Kit from Steve Spangler Science, you’ll be able to amaze your friends and family while learning about hydrogels! Our Water Gel experiment has been seen on the Ellen DeGeneres Show and has wowed in-studio and viewer audiences all over the world! Water Gel, also known as slush powder, turns from a dry powder to a gel in just seconds. The special sodium polyacrylate absorbs from 500 to 800 times its weight in water. It is actually the secret ingredient that’s used to absorb “liquid” in baby diapers! Included in this kit is an activity guide with lots of fun, hands-on polymer science tricks to play on your friends with this water gel powder. Water Gel is recommended for children ages four and up.

How Water Gel Works

Just add water to this superabsorbent polymer. This special substance instantly transforms from a powder to a slushy solid. Each portion is one blue scoop, which measures to about 3 grams. This means that there are about 33 portions in each jar. Water Gel is the perfect way to demonstrate how polymers work. This super-absorbent polymer can help illustrate how farmers can save their crops in times of drought and what kind of materials are in baby diapers.

What Does It Teach?

Water Gel is the perfect way to demonstrate how polymers work. The gel is a superabsorbent polymer that can help illustrate how farmers can save their crops in times of drought and what kind of material is in a baby diaper!

Super Absorbent Polymer Powder

Water Gel soaks up to 500 – 800 times its weight in water in seconds! It uses sodium polyacrylate – the secret ingredient used to absorb “liquid” in diapers!

Science Fair Connection

Turn Water Gel into a fun science fair project by simply identifying a variable (something that might change the outcome) in the experiment, then testing that variable, and correctly reporting the results.

Can You Reuse It?

Yes, you can reuse the Water Gel after you are done with your experiments. Just spread the polymer into a thin sheet to let the water evaporate. In about 2 weeks the gel will be back to its original powder form.

Steve Spangler Science

For over 25 years, Steve Spangler Science has been getting the young (and young at heart) excited about STEM subjects. Order our Water Gel and then check out our other all-in-one science kits available on our website. These kits are perfect for after-school activities, in-class activities and STEM club experiments that will truly pique the imaginations of children. Each experiment and kit has that Steve Spangler Science WOW factor that we’re known for!

Osmosis Right Before Their Eyes

The chemical and physical properties of many polymers, or long carbon-chain molecules, make them very useful for a number of real-world applications. With the Water Gel – Sodium Polyacrylate science kit from Steve Spangler Science, children can get a great look at the action of this kind of polymer up close. Sodium polyacrylate is a super-absorbent, cross-linked polymer powder that contains sodium atoms along its carbon chain. This sodium loves the polar water molecules and distributes itself between its own polymer network and the surrounding water, causing water molecules to travel inside the polymer network by osmosis. Then, the magic occurs as the water absorbing powder takes in the water by osmosis and turns into a gel. Young scientists can watch the whole thing in amazement as they learn about the power of polymers.

Sizes Available:

100 gram bag of Water Gel powder
Activity guide
Measuring scoop

or

1lb bag of Water Gel powder
Activity guide
Measuring scoop

Science Fair Connection

Think about some variables like these that you might test:

Try altering the type of liquid you use. Make sure you keep all other variables the same, including the quantity of water gel. Then compare the gel forms that are created. Are they the same? Different?
Try using different temperatures of water. Time the reactions or compare the gel forms that are created.

These are just a couple of ideas, but you aren’t limited to them! Come up with different ideas of variables to test and give them a try. Remember, you can only change one variable at a time for each test. For example, if you are testing different water temperatures, make sure that all other factors in the test remain the same!

Frequently Asked Questions

How many portions will this make?

Each portion is one blue scoop, which measures to about 3 grams. There are about 33 portions in the jar.

Is it like Insta-Snow?

The polymers are very similar, but the molecules are linked slightly differently, which is why they react differently with water.

What activities can I do with this?

Water gel is a perfect way to demonstrate how polymers work. The gel can help illustrate how farmers can save their crops in times of drought and what kind of material is in a baby diaper!

Safety Information

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Water Gel