How to Make Oobleck for a Dr. Seuss Party

There's no better theme for a birthday party for Dr. Seuss fans! Throw a Dr. Seuss party to celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday. Theodor Seuss Geisel was born March 2, 1904, and died at age 87 on September 24, 1991. So, tip your hats to the most beloved author of children's books. He wrote 44 classic books for children under the pen name, Dr. Seuss. Some favorites are "The Cat in the Hat," "Green Eggs and Ham," "How the Grinch Sole Christmas," "Are You My Mother?" and "Bartholomew and the Oobleck."

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 1/4 cup of water
• 1/4 cup of white glue
• 2 tablespoons of Borax
• 2 cups of warm water

1. Plan to have a party with many fun activities and lots of goodies to make in celebration of Dr. Seuss's birthday. Dr. Seuss wrote "Bartholomew and the Oobleck," the sequel to "The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins," in 1949. It follows adventurous young Bartholomew Cubbins from the Kingdom of Didd. A magical spell was cast to create an extremely sticky green substance also known as "goop" coming from the sky. Making this fun goop (oobleck) will be a blast for children to play with at their next party.

2. Get two bowls to make the oobleck. In one bowl put 1/4 cup of water and 1/4 cup of white glue. Then add just a few drops of green food coloring to the bowl. In the other bowl, mix two cups of warm water with two tablespoons of Borax.

3. Stir it until it dissolves. Add 1/4 cup of the mixture of Borax with the mixture of glue. Your Dr. Seuss oobleck will immediately take form.

4. Play with the oobleck. Now that it's ready, roll it into a ball and try bouncing it. The oobleck also stretches and picks up newsprint. Throw the oobleck back and forth to each other, but be careful it could get messy. You may want to do this activity outdoors.

5. Store the oobleck in a zip-lock bag and place it in the refrigerator for another time. When all the fun is over, it is time to clean-up the oobleck that may have fallen on the floor. It sweeps up easily and also vacuums well. Oobleck will clog up the sink, so never pour it down the drain.

Tips & Warnings

• Oobleck can also be made for a class of 30 children by using cornstarch instead of Borax. Put six cups of warm water in a large mixing bowl and add green food coloring a drop at a time until the water turns green. Next mix ten cups of cornstarch, one cup at a time. Mix thoroughly and have some extra cornstarch on hand in case its not stiff enough. Pass a glob in a small paper cup to each student.