Physicists study magnets and can use them to create awesome machines! Have you ever wondered how they work?Join Alyssa to learn about magnets and make some magnetic slime!
Materials:
Liquid starch, Elmer’s glue, 2 tbsp iron oxide powder, neodymium (rare earth) magnet, spoon, mixing bowl
*Parent supervision needed for this experiment!
Time Estimated:
15-20 minutes
Directions:
Pour 1/4 cup of white PVA (Elmer’s) glue into your mixing bowl. You may have to use the spoon to scrape all the glue out of the measuring cup.
Add 2 tablespoons of iron oxide powder. Stir well. You’ll be expecting the mixture to look solid black, however, it will look more like Oreo cookie crumbs! Don’t worry – it will look solid black in a minute.
Pour in 1/8 cup of liquid starch. Stir the glue and starch mixture really well to make sure that it’s all mixed.
As soon as you begin to stir, the starch will react with the glue and the slime will start to form.
Knead the slime with your hands. It helps to wash your hands after kneading the slime and before playing with it. This helps to make the slime less sticky.
If your slime is too sticky (glue-y), knead in a tiny bit more starch.
If it’s too stringy, knead in a little more glue.
If your slime does not respond to your magnet, the problem is the strength of your magnet. Neodymium magnets are extremely strong!
Fingers can easily get pinched when trying to separate the magnets. Be sure to keep the magnets away from cell phones, computers, and other electronics.
If you order the smaller disc magnets, make sure that no one puts them in their mouth – these would be very dangerous if swallowed. Overall, this is not a project for kids who still put things in their mouths. Iron oxide powder is not good to breathe.
Play with your slime!
Think Like A Scientist:
What does magnetic slime contain?
Why is it attracted to the magnet?
How It Works:
In this experiment, you learned about the magnetic properties of metallic slime! There are many different ways to determine that metal is present in substances such as slime, even when the properties of the substance don’t seem very metallic on the surface. For example, magnetic slime has a metal called iron in it that is attracted to a strong magnet. When you hold a magnet near the slime, it oozes toward it; the slime will even “swallow” up the magnet if you let it go! The iron inside the slime gives it its magnetic and metallic properties, but the slime is still super stretchy and fun to play with like regular slime!
Looking for more fun at home STEM activities for your young scientist? Check out our workbook full of exciting science experiments and empowering activities!
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