How to Make Really Slimy Slime With Borax

Create your own fun slime for at-home use.

While you normally wouldn’t give children a handful of glue to play with, normal white craft glue combined with powdered Borax creates a hands-on slime that’s hard to resist. The slime, made possible due to the science of polymers, is both a solid and a liquid. Just slightly less solid than putty but able to hold together, the slime slips and slides over your hands. With a bit of food coloring, it becomes a fun-filled toy and a good excuse for handing over that handful of glue.

Things You'll Need

• 8-ounce bottle of white craft glue
• Medium mixing bowl
• Plastic spoon
• Food coloring
• Plastic cup
• Borax powder
• Measuring cup
• Measuring spoons

Instructions

1. Fill a medium sized bowl with an 8-ounce bottle of white craft glue.

2. Fill the glue bottle with warm water, replace the cap and shake it vigorously to dilute all the glue remaining in the bottle. Pour the diluted glue into the glass bowl along with the undiluted glue. Mix the two together with a spoon until the mixture is smooth.

3. Add food coloring to the glue mixture, and mix the coloring in until the glue takes on your desired color without any streaks.

4. Pour 1/2 cup warm water into a small plastic cup. Stir 1 teaspoon of powdered Borax into the water.

5. Add the Borax mix to the bowl of glue while stirring the glue slowly. The glue will immediately begin to thicken. Continue stirring until the glue becomes too thick for you to stir it, then switch to mixing the slime by hand. Continue adding the Borax mix, folding the slime by hand until you no longer have any Borax mix remaining. Fold until the slime droops between your fingers, then remove it from the bowl and use it.

Tips & Warnings

• Store your slime in a sealed plastic bag to preserve it between uses.

References

• Science BOB: Make Your Own Slime
• Steve Spangler Science: GAK — Elmer’s Glue Borax Recipe