Slime: Vacation Fun with Polymers!

My daughter is passionate about slime. Although the mess definitely causes some controversy in our home, as a science teacher who encourages creativity, it would be hard not to support her ventures. We decided that the glitter slime still stuck to the wall, the bits of slime that found their way onto the floor, and the general mess that comes with creating slime are all worth the trouble for the lessons she gets about chemistry and designing informal experiments. She is also beginning to learn the importance of a thorough clean-up!

                     

My daughter’s interest in slime provides a great excuse to have a discussion about polymers. Do you know where slime gets its stretchiness? Slime is a polymer, as are common plastics. Polymers are complex molecules consisting of chains of simpler molecules, called monomers.

These long polymer chains help give slime its prized stretchiness. Glue, a common slime ingredient, itself contains a polymer called polyvinyl acetate. Kids mix glue with a reactant such as borax that causes the polymer chains to stick together, a chemical process called crosslinking. As the long polymer chains in the glue stick together, this creates a thicker substance- slime!

We are currently on Spring Break, and my daughter is devoting much of her time and resources to experimenting with new slime recipes and finding the best combinations of ingredients. Her birthday money has gone towards glue, shampoo, and peel-off face mask. I’ll be interested to see what new combinations she comes up with!

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