We love playing with oobleck and have probably made it a zillion times. But this time, we wanted to try something different and the result was Colour Changing Oobleck!
Colour changing Oobleck looks straight out the potions class from Harry Potter movies! One moment it is pink and the next it turns green.
- What Is Oobleck
- Science Behind Oobleck
- How To Make Colour Changing Oobleck
- Colour Changing Oobleck Science Experiment
If your kids love magical stuff, we bet they are going to adore this too good to be true variation of classic Oobleck.
But before we dive into the Colour changing Oobleck Science Experiment, let’s understand what Oobleck is and the science behind it.
What Is Oobleck
Oobleck is neither solid nor liquid. It is a non-Newtonian fluid that mimics the properties of both a liquid and a solid, depending on the force applied to it.
Named after a substance featured in the Dr. Seuss book “Bartholomew and the Oobleck”, it is also known as goop and magic mud.
Science Behind Oobleck
Oobleck’s unusual behavior is due to the properties of cornstarch particles. When mixed with water, the cornstarch particles suspend in water forming a suspension. Their unique molecular interaction gives rise to non-newtonian properties.
The solid cornstarch particles move together under pressure, forcing the water particles to move away. Thus, behaving like a solid when pressure is applied. In the absence of pressure, the suspension moves smoothly away, acting like a liquid.
Now that we have covered the basics of Oobleck, let’s get on to the fun part – Making Colour Changing Oobleck.
Colour Changing Oobleck
Colour changing Oobleck is a fun science experiment for kids of all ages. While the little ones will be blown away with its colour shifting abilities along with its non-newtonian properties, there is a lot of science for older kids to learn in this simple science activity.
What You Will Need to Make This Oobleck Recipe:
- pH indicator: 1 cup
- Cornstarch (cornflour): 2 cups
- Mixing bowl
- Spatula
The colour changing oobleck follows the same principles of the classic oobleck recipe except one key difference – the pH indicator. In this oobleck recipe, water is replaced with a pH indicator. Here is how to make a pH indicator at home.
How To Make pH Indicator at Home
Making a natural pH indicator at home is fairly simple, though it may sound fancy. All you need to do is boil red cabbage in water for a few minutes. Or instead you can blitz the cabbage with warm water and sieve the mixture to get your pH indicator.
Quick tip: We get red cabbage part of the year where we live so, instead of missing out on the fun when it’s unavailable, we deep freeze it to have it handy anytime.
How To Make Colour Changing Oobleck
Time needed: 10 minutes
- Add cornflour in a dish
Take 2 cups of cornflour in a dish.
- Pour in the pH indicator.
Slowly add the pH indicator to the cornflour and mix it till you get the desired consistency.
- Mix to get the right consistency.
Mix the cornflour and pH indicator to get a viscous concoction. You can add more pH indicator if the oobleck is too thick. In case it is too runny, add in cornflour, one teaspoon at a time.
We use less than a cup of red cabbage pH indicator as we wanted to keep the oobleck on a more viscous side as it will get diluted later in the experiment.
Your bizarre, colour shifting oobleck is ready. Now, it’s time to get the fun started!
Colour Changing Oobleck Science Experiment
For this fun science experiment for kids, you will need an acid and a base to change the colours of the goop you made. We used the popular ones that are readily available at home – lemon juice & baking soda
Supplies for Colour Changing Oobleck Science Activity
- Lemon juice or Vinegar
- Baking soda solution
- Pipettes
How to do it:
- Firstly, mix baking soda and water in a bowl to make a basic solution.
- Take the baking soda solution and lemon juice in two different pipettes and add a few drops on either side of the dish. The oobleck will almost instantly change the colour where the acid and base is added.
Stir the oobleck slowly, so as to mix the acid and the base in the oobleck. As you mix, the oobleck will start to change colour. Try to keep both acid and base at opposite ends so you can see three colours at the same time in your oobleck.
The section of the colour changing oobleck that interacts with the base will turn blue, though it looks a shade of green in the pictures, and the one that is mixed with acid will turn pink.
We simply loved to see how the oobleck was changing colours! Keep adding the acid and base to the oobleck to see the reaction. And don’t throw it till you have had your heart-full of fun.
Related: Also try this quick and Easy Rainbow Ooblcek recipe!
Try mixing the different colour sections. Our’s were neatly stacked and we used our hands to mix the different coloured sections together. And this led to another fun science activity – the formation of bubbles!
When you mix the acidic part of oobleck and the part with the base, lemon juice and baking soda react together releasing bubbles! So now, we have transformed the colour changing oobleck into a Baking Soda and Vinegar experiment demonstration!
After a while, the bubbles will settle down and you will get to witness yet another colour in your oobleck! This time it is more of a dirty, pale blue as the acid and base have neutralised each other and turned the oobleck to a more basic solution.
Related: Don’t stop here, check out Harry Potter Inspired Magical Experiments For Kids for baffling fun!
This is what we love about science experiments. There is always one thing leading to another! Such a fun way to learn and explore.
Make sure your kids have some crazy Oobleck fun by punching, squishing the Oobleck to see its mind-boggling properties before you dispose it away. Check out our quick guide to dispose Oobleck responsibly.
FAQ
The word was coined by Dr.Suess in his book Bartholomew and the Oobleck to describe a gooey, slimy green substance.
1. Oobleck is neither solid nor liquid. It is classified as a non-Newtonian fluid.
2. If you move fast, you can walk on oobleck without sinking!
3. It’s strange name comes from Dr Suess’ book – Bartholomew and the Oobleck.
4. Besides being a fun science experiment for kids, Oobleck has interesting industrial uses.
5. Oobleck is patented!