You are constantly telling your child not to pick their nose. But who can resist rolling something sticky, wet, and squishy between their fingers? I’ve got a solution that will satisfy both kids and parents.
Slime
It’s an incredible sensory experience for the kids as they dig in and get gooey, but it doesn’t leave a big mess behind for you to clean up. The sensation of slime being squeezed between fingers and toes, of stretching, pulling, and rolling the slime between palms can be very relaxing for a child. (And an adult, too!)
Below I have included the gooiest, slimiest, most tried and true recipes from across the internet. You can experiment to come up with your own creations, too!
Standard GAK from The Science Kiddo
This 4-ingredient recipe is quick and easy to make.
Bat Slime from Little Bins for Little Hands
Slime with a Halloween twist! You could vary this according to the season or holiday so you have a festive slime all year round.
Glow in the Dark Slime from Left Brain Craft Brain
Who doesn’t love stuff that glows in the dark? Make the dough and then read the science behind what makes something glow in the dark here.
Lego Slime from Lemon Lime Adventures
Add some Lego pieces and you’ve got yourself a real party!
Galaxy Slime from Twodaloo
This is the most gorgeous slime out there! Plus it makes some pretty awesome gigantic bubbles!
Edible Slime from Fun at Home With Kids
Do you have a baby or toddler that wants to join in the fun? Make this edible edition and you don’t have to worry about what happens if your little one taste tests your slime!
Bubbling Slime from Epic Fun for Kids
Apparently it bubbles for a solid 24 hours!

Edible Kool-aid Slime from Growing a Jeweled Rose
This slime smells as good as it is pretty.
Heat Sensitive Color Changing Slime from Left Brain Craft Brain
One of our personal favorites, this slime literally changes in the heat and cold!
One Ingredient Edible Slime from Kids Play Box
Easy-peasy one-ingredient nontoxic slime that everyone can enjoy.
*If your slime doesn’t come out exactly as expected head over to this trouble-shooting guide. Asia at Fun at Home with Kids is the slime goddess 🙂 And yes, that’s a HUGE compliment!
Slime Science
Making slime can be educational, too! When you mix the ingredients together you are making a polymer. You can think of a polymer like a chain or a ladder. It is made of lots of little chemical pieces (called monomers) that hook together to make a long, strong strand. Many synthetic materials are polymers such as plastic, nylon, and styrofoam. Polymers exist in nature, too, in the forms of DNA and proteins.

Hi Crystal, my kids love slime! Great ideas and thanks for the link up. Have a great weekend! Katie @sciencekiddo.comALittlePinchofPerfect
Glad to know we have some slime lovers out there! Thanks for stopping by 🙂
This is great! We can never get enough slime at our house… Thanks so much for including our glow in the dark slime, too!
You’re welcome! We love some around our house, too! Love all that you have going on at your website, especially all your how in the dark activities!
Hi! Our kids love to play with slime and other polymers. My husband is a physicist and am an ecologist; we are always trying to introduce our children to science and simple experiments like the ones mentioned in your post are just perfect to promote curiosity in children.
Fantastic! So fun to meet a fellow scientist 🙂 I love that you promote learning through play with your kids, it’s so important!
Fantastic round-up and great explanation of the science behind slime!
Thanks for stopping by!
How much fun does this look? Thanks for linking up with the #parentingpinitparty
Thanks for stopping by!
This looks like a screaming good experiment for Halloween!
Thank you for stopping by the Thoughtful Spot Weekly Blog Hop this week. We hope to see you drop by our neck of the woods next week!
Thank you for stopping by!
I’ve only made slime once with the kids. seems like this is the perfect season for it. would love if you came by and shared on our #kidsinthekitchen linky https://sciencekiddo.com//lookwhatmomfound.com/2014/10/halloween-candy-coated-pretzel-rods.html
I will, thanks!
This looks amazing! What a great idea!