September sliming

September has been off to a great start! I am enjoying the craziness surrounding back to school this year. Around the office, I am planning some exciting events that we will be participating in (so keep an eye out for announcements!). This coming week, we are REALLY excited to be joining Methanex for their Community Days on Wednesday, Sept. 14. We have taken part the last few times it has been out at the plant, and they do an absolutely amazing job showcasing STEM in our community. Of course, Praxis will be there with some hands on activities for participants to take part in as well. I hate to give away all of my secrets for the day, but I will share an activity that will be similar to one we will be doing to get people thinking about science... Let’s get started!

*Remember to ask an adult before doing this experiment.

Materials

• Liquid starch (from the laundry section in your grocery store)

• White school glue

• Mixing bowl

• Measuring cups

• Measuring spoons

• Mixing spoon

• Water

• Glow in the dark paint (you can get this from craft or hardware store this time of the year)

• Small containers or zip top baggies (optional)

• Safety goggles

Procedure

1. Put your safety goggles on.

2. Measure one and a half cups (375 mL) of starch.

3. Measure 5 tablespoons (75 mL) of glow in the dark paint. Add to the liquid starch.

4. Stir this mixture VERY well; you want the paint to be evenly distributed.

5. Measure one cup (250 mL) of glue and pour it into a bowl.

6. Let the mixture rest for 30 minutes.

7. Mix well. 8. At this point, you may have to knead it with your hands to mix it REALLY well.

9. Turn off the lights and see how well it glows!

Important Points

1. Disclaimer***first of all, be careful, slime is not good for household plumbing…do not throw this down the drain.

2. Keep the slime away from carpets, hair, clothing, pets etc. as it is sticky, and very difficult if not impossible to remove…

3. Wash your hands very well after mixing the slime, and NEVER eat it. Supervision of really small children may be necessary so they do not ingest the slime.

What is going on?

Slime is formed with just these two ingredients – they may look simple, but they really are quite complex! The two things we need to make slime happen are polyvinyl alcohol which is in the white glue and borate, which we have in the liquid laundry starch. When these two are mixed together, the polyvinyl alcohol is attracted to the borate ion and forms two long chains and these then form TONS of chains together forming the oh so ooooooey goooooey slime we love to play with!

Patty Rooks, Senior Scientific Consultant PRAXIS, “Connecting Science To The Community”. Contact Praxis at praxis@praxismh.ca, www. praxismh.ca, Tweet or follow us @PraxisMedHat, or friend us on Facebook. Address: #12 826 11 Street S. E., Medicine Hat, Alberta, T1A 1T7 Phone: 403.527.5365, email: praxis@ praxismh.ca