Make Your Own Silly Putty

You curious kids will absolutely love this fun and messy at-home science experiment that is easy and entertaining!

WHAT'S THE HISTORY?

Did you know that Silly Putty was accidentally discovered in 1943, during World War II? There was a rubber shortage and the government asked scientists to try and make a man made version of rubber. An engineer named James Wright mixed together two types of chemicals called boric acid and silicone oil and made a ball of goo. The goo wasn’t able to replace rubber, but a toy store owner discovered a different use for it—as a toy! Silly Putty was trademarked on July 1, 1952. It became very popular in the 1960’s and was even taken into space by the astronauts of Apollo 8! Over 300 million eggs of Silly Putty have been sold since the 1950’s.

Put the corn starch in a small bowl.
Slowly add the dish soap to the corn starch.
Mix together using a spoon.
If it's too wet, add more corn starch. TIP: If it's too dry, add more dish soap.
When it gets too hard to stir, use your hands to kneed the rest together.

Make your own science experiment and explore what happens to silly putty under different conditions. Examples:

What happens when you put silly putty in water?
What happens if you put silly putty in the fridge?
What happens if you leave silly putty out in the sun?
Can your silly putty bounce?

WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?

Dish soap is something called a surfactant. Its molecules are like a magnet positively charged on one end and negatively charged on the other. This means that dish soap can connect to the cornstarch and bind it together, making silly putty.

Click here to download the PDF version how to Make your own Silly Putty from Kazoom Kids Shoes and Socks.

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