I just had to share our little adventure with you with my ‘pinspiration’ fun and found a fantastic recipe to make bouncy balls at home. Since it looked like so much fun and we wanted to attempt it at home, besides the usual playdough and fingerpaint recipes!
Gather these Items
- borax (found in the laundry section of most grocery stores)
- cornstarch
- white glue (e.g., Elmer’s glue – makes an opaque ball) or blue or clear school glue (makes a translucent ball)
- warm water
- food coloring (optional)
- measuring spoons
- spoon or craft stick to stir the mixture
- 2 small plastic containers for mixing
- zip-lock plastic baggie
Directions:
- Label one cup ‘Borax Solution’ and the other cup ‘Ball Mixture’.
- Pour 2 tablespoons warm water and 1/2 teaspoon borax powder into the cup labeled ‘Borax Solution’. Stir the mixture to dissolve the borax. Add food coloring, if desired.
- Pour 1 tablespoon of glue into the cup labeled ‘Ball Mixture’. Add 1/2 teaspoon of the borax solution you just made and 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. Do not stir. Allow the ingredients to interact on their own for 10-15 seconds and then stir them together to fully mix. Once the mixture becomes impossible to stir, take it out of the cup and start molding the ball with your hands.
- The ball will start out sticky and messy, but will solidify as you knead it.
- Once the ball is less sticky, go ahead and bounce it!
- You can store your plastic ball in a sealed ziploc bag when you are finished playing with it.
- Don’t eat the materials used to make the ball or the ball itself. Wash your work area, utensils, and hands when you have completed this activity.
And here’s a few shots of our adventure.
Elijah adding the glue to his mixture
Mixing the ingredients
Rolling the balls
And here it is. Tori’s didn’t turn out as well. She dumped in extra borax. And remember, the more food coloring, the brighter the ball.
Store in plastic baggies when not in use.
