Is anyone in your house excited for summer? Ours too! But, if summer school were superhero school we don’t think anyone would mind a few extra days of class. In fact, we’re counting on it! All of June we’ve dedicated the Cavern of Time to “Superhero Science” where kids can attend flight school or find out if they’ve got super strength!
Want to have your class study ahead? Start with Super Substances in your Superhero Science Lab. We’ve got three to get you started!
Ooblek
What you’ll need:
1 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup water
bowl
food coloring (optional)
What you’ll do:
Mix food coloring and water. Add cornstarch slowly and stir constantly. Make sure to scrape the bottom! Add more cornstarch and/or water as needed. When your ooblek is ready, you should be able to poke it with your fingers and have it feel very solid. But, if you tip your bowl, the substance should slowly start to flow like a liquid.
What’s happening:
You’ve created a Non-Newtonian Fluid; it doesn’t follow the basic, or Newtonian, principles governing all other fluids. Ooblek is a super substance because it can be a solid or a liquid and that’s a mutant ability if ever I’ve seen one!
Trivia: Ooblek gets its name from the Dr. Seuss book Bartholomew and the Ooblek.
You may have seen the next two Super Substances on our blog before, but they’re so much fun we think they’re worth sharing again!
–Tabitha
Clay Center Ed-Ventures 