Messy sensory: corn starch goop!

Have you made corn starch "goop" yet?  If not, you have to try it!  And if you have, you should do it again.  

Bub has a lot of tactile defensiveness, so I am always on the lookout for new sensory experiences to introduce him to.  I found this "recipe" on one of the sensory integration disorder sites I browse, and it was fun beyond what I ever expected!

Started with a 16 oz container of corn starch (which runs just over a dollar at my local grocery store), five bowls (one for each of the kids, "big daddy", and myself), and some colored water (coloring the water isn't strictly necessary, but it adds a fun element).   

We discovered that corn starch itself has a pretty neat texture. 

Then, we slloowwlly add the colored water to the corn starch, a little bit at a time, while mixing the two together with your hands. 

Keep mixing, keep mixing, till the cornstarch powder is all incorporated into the water

It's easy to add to much liquid, so take is super slowly.  The final product pours like a thick liquid, and if you put your finger into it slowly or run a handful between your fingers, it just drains like any other liquid.  However, if you stir it, bounce your fingers off of it, or quickly make a ball out of it, it reacts like a slimy solid.  

My kids are a bit too young understand the science of why this happens, although daddy did explain that it has something to do with the molecules of the corn starch.  But we talked for a while about states of matter, particularly solid and liquid.  They really seemed to grasp the idea that when the goop poured it was acting like a liquid, and when it was hard it was acting like a solid.  

Disclaimer: This is MESSY!  Best done outside, and somewhere that can be hosed off when you're done.