Fun with Gunk

Around 10:00 last night Jenny got the sudden notion to make Gunk.

I swallowed all the No's popping out of my mouth and said Ok. Sure.

She measured and stirred.

Soon an alarming liquidy, splatty, burbling sound came from the kitchen.  If you try this with your children, you'll recognize it when you get to that step.

But what a fun result.

 Jenny blew and blew into the straw.  The gunky bubble spread over her hands, the straw, her nose, and Steven's hands.  It stuck to the apple bowl and finally it popped.

If you want to try this yourself, here's the recipe:

[Note: you can get big jugs of Elmers glue at office supply stores.  Borax is in the detergent aisle in a cereal-sized box.]

Stir together well:
2 cups Elmers glue
1 1/2 cups warm water

Add a few drops of food coloring.

Dissolve 2 teaspoons Borax
in 1 cup hot water.

Pour it slowly into the glue and stir quickly.

If not all the liquid congeals, mix another teaspoon of Borax with about 1/4 cup of water.  Dribble it in and stir some more.

Store in the fridge in an airtight container.

To replicate the bubble: Knead the gunk until it's nice and smooth.  Put it on the counter.  Poke a straw part-way underneath.  Get a helper, and both of you hold down the edges of the blob to make it airtight.

Blow into the straw.  If air bubbles out from underneath, push down that section of gunk.

Keep blowing into the straw.

And blowing.

And blowing.

Shriek now and then, and get the rest of the family to come and look.

There's really no experience quite like this one, leading Jenny to say:

Quote of the Day:
"I wonder what would happen if the gunk would come alive.  It would take over the house!"

P.S. Jenny made that zebra-and-teal apron herself as part of the Summer of Skills.