Oobleck. Oh yeah.

Seemingly innocent elements, cornstarch and water, when combined just right make for gooey, freaky science fun. The fluffy, silky, cloud-like cornstarch will become a “non-Newtonian” substance. Meaning its viscosity can change.  Meaning it changes if you strike it as opposed to simply rest your hand in it. Water to rock hard solid. So much so that you can run and jump up and down on it. But if you stop you will sink into it. And if you simply tilt it back and forth it will move as fluid as water. What does 15 pounds of cornstarch and 1.75 gallons of water make? A whole lot of fun, that’s what! This was our small scale testing of making enough Oobleck to jump and run on for our C.C. science project. The plan is to buy a small baby pool and fill it with 150 pounds of cornstarch and water so that we truly can run, jump, dance, and skip on it. Or sink as the case may be. It turned out amazing! At first, Eric made the Oobleck with only a gallon of water, and it wasn’t enough water for the mixture to move fluidly. Then we added another 3/4 gallon of water and it moved like water but was rock solid if you applied sudden force to it. Perfection in a Tupperware storage container. While the girls were interested in touching and playing with it, we couldn’t get them to jump on it. While I knew the science would hold up it was still a little scary to jump on it at first. However, myself, Eric and Noah all had a turn. Can’t wait for class! This is going to be the coolest science day of the entire year! When it happens I will be sure NOT to wear my black jeans to class (above). Really? What was I thinking? Anyway, the cornstarch has been ordered in bulk and is on its way. I am still looking for a baby pool as well as devising a disposal method for all the Oobleck. I can’t wait for the big day. Neither can my friend, Nikki, who is super excited to be helping me out with this. We have wanted to do a baby pool of Oobleck for several years now. Not that this is all about us...but it is! Sooooooo excited!!!!!