To make the Oobleck (otherwise known as goop or gak!) the girls actually experimented with quantities all by themselves, as part of the investigative learning experience! But the rough recipe is very simple. Add 2 cups of cornflour and 1 cup of water and mix. I think they must have added around 4 cups of cornflour and 2 cups of water as we had a LOT by the end!
They were fascinated by the amazingly strange texture and consistency of the substance, which goes from liquid to solid and back again. If you have never tried making this you really must as you will love it as much as your children! It is a great discussion starter and a way for prompting insightful questions, that can be looked up and answered together.
I bravely handed the girls our liquid food colourings and let them add them as they pleased. The oobleck took the colour in as fascinating a way as would be expected, in that it quickly spread and made beautiful patterns like a liquid, then stopped as though frozen in ice! When they put in hands or stirrers to mix, they could very slowly and meaningfully pull the colour to create shapes. An older child or adult could make a beautiful, intentional piece of art this way. Let me know if you try it, I’d LOVE to see the result!
Pop had the great idea to scoop the oobleck straight onto the table, after all, it wouldn’t drip off in a hurry! They added lots of different colours and watched them swirl then stop. 
Beautiful rivers of blue in a purple sea! Wonderful marbelised patterns began to form and could then be rearranged and started over again.
Then they had a go at lifting prints off the colours as it worked really well when we tried it with shaving foam earlier this year.
They lifted well, but if they were left on for too long they sunk under the goop into the abyss!
Here are a couple of the pretty results on paper. They dried out with a fairly chalky texture but would make nice cards or paper bunting.
Pretty!
Cakie: 36 months
Pop: 18 months
Learning Links:
- Creativity: exploring colour mixing and pattern making, print making,
- Science (Knowledge & Understanding of the World): investigating textures, combining materials, observing liquid to solid and the reverse process
- Maths: counting out cup fulls
- PHSE: working together, independently exploring materials, developing thinking and curiosity
- Fine motor: developing small muscles through squeezing, squishing and stirring
That looks so much fun, but what is oobleck?
This just looks awesome! I love that you just let them have at it with the food coloring, definitely an outdoors thing. We will definitely try this, although it may not be until next summer.
Oh this looks like so much gooey fun! And so pretty too!
Looks fun -and messy -right up my street!
Love it, and love that word Oobleck!
You know, I must have done oobleck (@Monika–it’s a mixture of cornstarch and water) a hundred times, but I’ve never thought to lift a print from it? WOW! Way to combine sensory, science, AND art!
That is lovely and so pretty! I wonder if I am brave enough to attempt that with my three this week? Thank you for linking up to fun sparks!
This is great fun and the pics are lovely!
These are stunning. Too beautiful to hang on the fridge…I would frame them!
I stumbled across your page via kidsactivitiesblog.com and I’m so glad I did. What a wonderful idea. I have a soon to be 3 year old next month and his rate of learning blows me away… I feel like I can’t keep up… but finding these pages really gives me hope that we’ve got a lot of fun learning ahead of us. Thanks for some great tips. We’re going to make oobleck tomorrow and I can’t wait to seek out more exciting ideas from your page. Cheers ~Angie
If I don’t have cornstarch on hand do you think fine rice flour would work as an alternative?