So this fun sensory bin is comprised of oobleck (or quicksand) and colorful dinosaurs. If you haven’t used oobleck yet, you should give it a try! It’s what’s called a non-Newtonian fluid meaning that it can change between a liquid and solid form based on the amount of force that’s placed on it. So, sometimes it feels like you’re holding something hard and solid and at other times it flows like a liquid. This odd matter was perfect for the role of “quicksand” in our dinosaur adventures!
To setup:
1. Make your oobleck by mixing 2:1 parts of cornstarch:water. So for mine I mixed 2 cups cornstarch and 1 cup water.
2. Then add 3 drops of yellow food coloring to make it look like quicksand.
3. Throw in some dinosaur toys and let the kids start exploring
As you can see from my picture above, our table got a little messy. That was mainly because I let the kids measure out the cornstarch and water themselves and mix it in their bins. I realized this wasn’t the best idea as the powder was flying out of their bins. I was ok with cleaning up the mess because they were able to practice measuring and mixing, but you may want to mix it up yourself beforehand if you want to avoid an extra mess.
You know I love to add in as much learning as possible during all my activities. With this oobleck being such a unique substance, I was able to strike up a conversation with my kids about the different states of matter (solid, liquid, gas). We talked about how this one was unique because it was both a liquid and a solid.
My kids have already been asking for this one again. So, it has already become a hit in our house!
