How to Make Spring Flower Ooblek for Kids
Sensory play is one of the parts of play that I know students look to and thrive with using. In my almost two decades in the classroom, I NEVER met a kid who didn’t enjoy tactile sensory play, and who doesn’t love trying new DIYs with their kids!? This Ooblek Spring STEM Activity is the perfect flower project to bring into the classroom this spring!
Recommended Grade Level:
Spring Flower Ooblek for Kids Supplies:
- 1 cup water
- 2 cups corn starch
- dollop of washable paint
- flower tops
- scissors
- spoons
- tray
- bowl
What is OOBLEK?
It would be hard to create this OOBLEK Spring STEM Activity if you don’t know what OOBLEK is! So let’s dive into that first and foremost.
OOBLEK is this combination of liquids and solids that boggles the mind! Think slime… but cooler. It acts like liquid at rest, and it turns into more of a solid with their hands in it. OOBLEK can be customized with different items, colors or other things to differentiate themes and units.
Need MORE Sensory Activities? check out our favorites:
- How to Dye Pasta for Sensory Play and Crafts
- How to Make Lemon Sensory Bottles for Summer
- Easy Glow in the Dark Slime Recipe for Kids
When to use OOBLEK Spring STEM Activity
The time to use OOBLEK in this sense is right there in the title- this is the perfect Spring Activity. But really, OOBLEK can be used at any time of year, and is easily adaptable.
Science Learning Hub has a very cool definition and article about OOBLEK- how it is both liquid and solid at the same time. It is classified as a non-Newtonian Fluid, which basically means it changes it’s “viscosity or flow under stress”. States of matter only change with temperature and pressure changes.
Materials You Will Need for OOBLEK Spring STEM Activity:
- 1 cup water
- 2 cups corn starch
- dollop of washable paint
- Flower tops
- scissors
- spoons
- tray
- bowl
Step-by-Step Instructions for OOBLEK Spring STEM Acvitity:
Step One:
In a separate bowl, where you’re not going to be making the OOBLEK, mix together a bit of paint into water. )You can use any color paint you want- but as it is spring flowers— we’re going green!)
Teacher Tip: You may have seen some ingredients that call for using food coloring to get the color of OOBLEK you’re looking for. That can work too, but we recommend instead of food coloring- use washable paint. Crayola is our favorite option! Food coloring works- but it might stain little hands, and potentially clothing!
Step Two:
Find the tray or bin that you want to hold the OOBLEK- and pour the corn starch into the tray.
Step Three:
Slowly add the colorful water into the tray with the corn starch. Mix as you go, and make sure they’re fully combined.
Step Five:
Make it spring! Add flowers, leaves and seeds to the OOBLEK to give it the spring vibes you’re looking for.
Yay! You did it. What Now?
OOBLEK is not one to send home in a “take home” folder. Can you imagine being a parent and opening a backpack to see OOBLEK in to share?! Because it is something that can dry out, if you wish to store it, you can try doing so in an air-tight Tupperware and get a few weeks of play out of it. But the upside to these bins is that most of the materials to make them are easily available and very inexpensive! So you can make OOBLEK as often as you want, with no storage needed.
Ways to Adapt/Modify/Differentiate the OOBLEK Spring STEM Activity
- Teaching Matter– When introducing students to states of matter like liquids, solids and gasses… this Spring OOBLEK would be a wonderfully fitting activity! ESPECIALLY since OOBLEK can be a solid and a liquid depending on it’s state of rest!
- Exploring Sensory– OOBLEK is so tactile and hands on, it would be the perfect tool to put in a calm down corner, or soothing area. Be sure to check out the linked books all about sensory, and have them out when your students are exploring their surroundings!
- Categories- Depending on what you add into the OOBLEK- it would be the perfect tool to use to categorize things. You could group things like color of flowers, leaves, big petals and small petals etc. The world is your oyster when it comes to putting things in categories, depending on what you place inside this ooey gooey goodness.
More Ways to Explore Using Flowers this Spring
- Easy Color Changing Flowers Science Experiment for Kids
- May Flowers I Spy Activity for Preschoolers
- Life Cycle of a Bean Plant Printable Diagrams for Kids
Frequently Asked Questions
These are frequently asked questions about Spring OOBLEK STEM Activity.
Can we color our OOBLEK with food coloring?
Of course you can. However, we recommend instead of food coloring- use washable paint. Crayola is our favorite option! Food coloring works- but it might stain little hands, and potentially clothing!
How can I store OOBLEK?
OOBLEK doesn’t last long, so if you want it to last longer than a day or so it is best to store it in an airtight container and place it in the refrigerator. When your little one is ready to play again, you can even add a little water to it and start play all over again!
How can I throw OOBLEK away?
Whatever you do- do NOT put your OOBLEK down the sink! If we are using OOBLEK inside, allowing the area to air dry first makes it easier to sweep up the cornstarch.
35+ Spring Math and Literacy Activities
Included in the Spring Math and Literacy Activities:
- 2 Sets of Spring Number Mats (empty ten-frame, heart filled ten-frame)
- Strawberry Beginning Sound Match Up
- 4 Sets of Spring Clip Cards (color, ten-frame, array, shape)
- Spring Flower Color Sort
- Class Set of Spring BINGO
- 2 Graphing Dice Games (Matching pictures and Numbers 1-6)
- 2 Spinner Graphing Games
- Spring Theme Line Tracing Cards & Picture Tracing Cards
- Line-Up Puzzles for Counting to 5 & 10
- 4 Matching Games (picture, number, alphabet, rhyme)
- Strawberry Missing Number Cards
- 3 Levels of AB Patterns
- Spring Shape Play Dough Mats
- 2 Sets of Counting to 10 Puzzles (array, ten-frame)
- Spring Shape Puzzles
- 2 Roll and Count Mats
- 2 Sets of Spring Sorting Activities (shapes and numbers 1-10)
- 5 Spin & Cover Games (1-5, 6-10, shape, picture)
- Raindrop Ten-Frame Cards
- Spring Bugs Tic-Tac-Toe
- 4 Sets of Tracing Cards (uppercase, lowercase, number, shape)
- Visual Discernment Clip Cards (What does not belong?)
- Trace, Write & Draw the Room
Tell Us About It!
Alright my friends, that’s it! A few simple ingredients and you have a product that defies Newton’s laws of matter! (That’s pretty cool, right?!) Be sure to comment what you are going to add to the OOBLEK to make it Spring-ified!
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