Jean in Newcastle Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 Help. I'm teaching at summer camp in a couple of weeks. (We still have summer vacation in this part of the world). I tried two different slime recipes (school glue, baking soda and contact solution for one and those ingredients plus shaving cream for another). Neither of these are getting at all solid despite stirring and stirring and stirring. What am I doing wrong? Is there a foolproof recipe? Is it something that 9 year olds can make? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daria Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 For the contact solution, you are not adding enough contact solution. Once it gets to the point where it's annoyingly sticky, put it in your hands and make a little indentation in the center with your thumbs. Add contact solution and work it through, do it again and again and again and then suddenly it will just gel and all the stickiness will disappear. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 My kids made both of those at a friend's house today and it worked well. We made it from elmers glue and liquid starch when I was a kid. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TX Native Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 (edited) I don't have the exact recipe, but ours called for the Borax washing powder along with the glue. We had whatever other ingredients the recipe called for on hand. It turned out well. I can't get to the book my dd used ATM, but if I find it in her room tomorrow I'll be back to post the recipe. ETA: my dd made it at age 8 and just needed some guidance and help with the mess from me. Edited August 5, 2017 by TX native 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamaraby Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 (edited) Way back in the day when I was in middle school, we made slime. I find myself sort of mystified about how popular it is now. Back in the old days, we used Elmer's school glue and a water/borax solution. (https://www.homesciencetools.com/learning-center/how-to-make-slime) I think it's foolproof, or at least I've never had it fail. ETA: Another one - https://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/glue-borax-gak/ Edited August 5, 2017 by mamaraby 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 Not sure if this is what you are talking about - when we made it, our recipe called it flubber. I've no idea where we found the recipe, and this isn't it (because I'd never heard of food.com at that time) but this looks about right: http://www.food.com/recipe/flubber-134095#activity-feed Elmer's glue and water (and food coloring if desired), mixed with Borax and water. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Kate Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 Lol...I'm sitting in my living room right now watching a group of girls make slime! It my my 10 year old's bday sleepover and they made slime without any assistance from me. Elmer's glue, saline solution, and baking soda was the base recipe. They added all sorts of things in to make different types of glue (shaving cream, glitter, crayola model magic), floam balls, etc). Dd has made the borax recipe many times, but I worried about getting a chemical burn for the party, so we chose the saline recipe instead. Read what Daria said above. Should help. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted August 5, 2017 Author Share Posted August 5, 2017 I have made three batches with the contact solution and none of them will harden no matter how much contact solution I put in. I wonder if we got the wrong solution? This box says "all purpose solution" and is for soft contact lenses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nansk Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 (edited) My dd says you must make sure your glue has Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA). In case it is not listed in the ingredients, the way to test it is to put a drop of glue on a plastic surface and leave it overnight to dry. If it dries clear, and if you are able to peel it off, that means it contains PVA. I am the kind of cook who needs exact measurements of all ingredients in a new recipe. A dash of this and a pinch of that doesn't work for me. When I first let my dd make slime, I made her search for a recipe which gave exact measurements and it turned out well. Now she eyeballs it and gets it right. Edited August 5, 2017 by nansk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daria Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 I have made three batches with the contact solution and none of them will harden no matter how much contact solution I put in. I wonder if we got the wrong solution? This box says "all purpose solution" and is for soft contact lenses. Maybe the wrong brand, or maybe the wrong glue? We use regular elmer's but I can't tell you what contact solution brand, as my co-teacher buys it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nansk Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 (edited) I have made three batches with the contact solution and none of them will harden no matter how much contact solution I put in. I wonder if we got the wrong solution? This box says "all purpose solution" and is for soft contact lenses. DD says you must use the ReNu brand of contact lens solution. Edited August 5, 2017 by nansk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Kate Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 DD says you must use the ReNu brand of contact lens solution. I bought the cheapest, generic brand (equate from Walmart?) and it worked great for the girls tonight. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Governess Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 My kids follow a recipe that only uses glue and liquid laundry detergent. It's worked every time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luuknam Posted August 6, 2017 Share Posted August 6, 2017 Lol...I'm sitting in my living room right now watching a group of girls make slime! Slime is in the air! I bought borax and Elmer's school glue from Target last night just minutes before Jean posted this question. I've never made it though, so I don't know if it works (we're planning on doing the thing from Mystery Science (the 3rd mystery from Chemical Magic or w/e it's called)), but I'm pretty sure I've seen a ton of recipes mention borax and glue. Btw, in the mystery on magnetism it mentioned you can put iron filings in it, and then your slime will 'eat' magnets - that video was fun to watch. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TX Native Posted August 6, 2017 Share Posted August 6, 2017 Way back in the day when I was in middle school, we made slime. I find myself sort of mystified about how popular it is now. Back in the old days, we used Elmer's school glue and a water/borax solution. (https://www.homesciencetools.com/learning-center/how-to-make-slime) I think it's foolproof, or at least I've never had it fail. ETA: Another one - https://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/glue-borax-gak/ I couldn't find the book with the recipe we used today, but I am quite certain it was similar to the one mentioned in the 1st link or the similar recipe from the poster below this post with a link to a recipe at food.com. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartlikealion Posted August 6, 2017 Share Posted August 6, 2017 I keep seeing advertisements for Slime being made at stores. Walmart, Toys R Us and Michael's have slime events. If you click on any of the classes here you can then get to a drop down menu that says "events" and may seen one or two Slime events. https://classes.michaels.com/OnlineClasses/control/main I don't know if you really want to bother with all that, but it might be convenient to see how they do theirs! lol 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luuknam Posted August 6, 2017 Share Posted August 6, 2017 I don't know if you really want to bother with all that, but it might be convenient to see how they do theirs! lol I'm guessing slime is plan D? (E? F?) for camp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted August 6, 2017 Author Share Posted August 6, 2017 I'm guessing slime is plan D? (E? F?) for camp. No. Plan A for one of the sessions. Just as I teach 9 sessions, I have 9 activities. Slime is one of them. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Openhearted Posted August 6, 2017 Share Posted August 6, 2017 I have made three batches with the contact solution and none of them will harden no matter how much contact solution I put in. I wonder if we got the wrong solution? This box says "all purpose solution" and is for soft contact lenses. It could be the solution. There is a multi-purpose solution that contains a contact cleaner as well as saline. Then there is just a regular saline solution. I haven't made slime just a longtime contact wearer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuvToRead Posted August 6, 2017 Share Posted August 6, 2017 According to DD12, the contact solution needs to contain boric acid. She stumbled across a recipe she likes somewhere on pinterest or youtube, but can't remember where. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted August 7, 2017 Author Share Posted August 7, 2017 The saga continues. I was out at Office Depot yesterday and they had a big "slime station" with all the ingredients and a recipe card. So I went over and grabbed a box of the contact solution because that should be the right kind, right? Wrong. After I tried it unsuccessfully, I actually took time to look at the ingredients and it was water. That's it. Just purified water and nothing else! So I ran to another store this afternoon and got actual contact solution with boric acid in it and guess what - I have slime! So I'm still mad at Office Depot but I'm glad because the fifth time's the charm on the actual recipe! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted August 8, 2017 Share Posted August 8, 2017 Baking soda is not great. It mixes best with borax which creates a stronger polymer. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted August 8, 2017 Share Posted August 8, 2017 We did slime today, as a back-to-school treat. Elmer's glue, baking soda, contact solution. Worked perfectly and the girls loved it (maybe more than the cornstarch/"oobleck"/non-Newtonian stuff). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuvToRead Posted August 8, 2017 Share Posted August 8, 2017 The saga continues. I was out at Office Depot yesterday and they had a big "slime station" with all the ingredients and a recipe card. So I went over and grabbed a box of the contact solution because that should be the right kind, right? Wrong. After I tried it unsuccessfully, I actually took time to look at the ingredients and it was water. That's it. Just purified water and nothing else! So I ran to another store this afternoon and got actual contact solution with boric acid in it and guess what - I have slime! So I'm still mad at Office Depot but I'm glad because the fifth time's the charm on the actual recipe! I told dd12 you had slime success and she is so happy for you! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted August 8, 2017 Share Posted August 8, 2017 The borax recipe works. There is one in Fizz, Bubble and Flash. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extendedforecast Posted August 8, 2017 Share Posted August 8, 2017 For recipes with borax, please be aware that too much exposure can be toxic. A child of a friend on Facebook landed in the hospital with borax poisoning after making multiple batches of slime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted August 8, 2017 Share Posted August 8, 2017 The saga continues. I was out at Office Depot yesterday and they had a big "slime station" with all the ingredients and a recipe card. So I went over and grabbed a box of the contact solution because that should be the right kind, right? Wrong. After I tried it unsuccessfully, I actually took time to look at the ingredients and it was water. That's it. Just purified water and nothing else! So I ran to another store this afternoon and got actual contact solution with boric acid in it and guess what - I have slime! So I'm still mad at Office Depot but I'm glad because the fifth time's the charm on the actual recipe! I would return the dud solution! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted August 9, 2017 Author Share Posted August 9, 2017 I would return the dud solution! I did. They refunded my money but insisted that you could make slime with just water. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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