Flubber

Science
Time 30 minutes
Age 7 & up
Group Size Less than 10
Tags Chemistry, Liquids, Solids

See what you can discover about this crazy substance!

Giving children a chance to play with interesting materials in an open-ended setting allows them to develop observation skills, problem solving skills and methods of experimentation. The material used in this activity, “flubber”, acts in some ways like a liquid and in others like a solid.

Preparation

Important Note: You will be working with Borax in this activity, which is a chemical and should be handled only by the teacher. Make sure that children wash their hands after they are done and be careful that they do not ingest the substance. If you are working with very young children, you might try the Oobleck activity as an alternative.

Create one large bowl of flubber. Put 1 1/3 cups of warm (almost hot) water in a small bowl and add 2 teaspoons of Borax. Stir until the Borax is completely dissolved (sometimes all of the Borax will not dissolve—this is OK). In the large bowl, mix 2 cups of Elmer’s glue with 1 1/2 cups of very warm water.  Mix well. You may add a few drops of food coloring if you would like, though it is not necessary.

Pour the small bowl (Borax solution) into the large bowl (glue solution). Mix it well with your hands. Keep turning and kneading it, like dough, until you have solid material. There may be a small amount of water left—you can pour this off. You’ve done it—you’ve made silly putty! Cover the tables or desks in newspaper or do this activity outside. You can also make smocks for yourself and your students out of large trash bags.

Flubber
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Suggested Materials

  • Elmer’s white glue (1 gallon)
  • 20 Mule Team Borax (1 box)
  • Measuring cups
  • Large bowl
  • Plastic bowls and plates (10-20 of each)
  • Newspaper
  • Spoons, craft sticks, cups and other tools for investigating
  • Water
  • Paper and pencils
1

Make it Matter

Opening Discussion

Ask your students if they remember the last activity, playing with Oobleck. What sorts of things could they do with the Oobleck? What surprised them about it? Tell them that today they will experiment with a new substance called “flubber”. Tell them that you don’t know a lot about it, and you’d like them to play with it and share their discoveries with you.

The Challenge

Play with this mystery substance and see what you can learn about it!

2

Make it Happen

Doing the Activity

  1. Have your students work in teams of 3 or 4 for this activity.
  2. Hand out at least one bowl and one plate to each team (2 of each is ideal). Also distribute spoons, craft sticks, cups and any other tools you have available for them to explore with.
  3. Divide your ball of flubber into equal pieces for each team and distribute these pieces. Encourage teams to investigate this substance in any way they would like (except for tasting it—flubber is not edible!).
3

Make it Click

Let’s Talk About It

After your students have experimented with the flubber for about 10 or 15 minutes, have them take a break and come together to talk about what they’ve discovered. Create a list on a piece of chart paper or a chalkboard of the things that they discovered about flubber. Then ask your students to list some other things that they might like to find out by playing with it some more. How is flubber different from oobleck?

4

Make it Better

Build On What They Talked About

Have your students return to the flubber to answer some of the new or lingering questions. When they are done, have them help you clean up, then ask them to add to your list of what you all know about flubber.

Suggestions

  • FLUBBER CANNOT BE EATEN! Make sure all of your students know this.
  • Elmer’s Glue All also works for making flubber.
  • A note about Oobleck and Flubber activities – using these substances in your afterschool is more about the experimentation that goes on than it is about understanding the chemical nature of the substance. Don’t get bogged down in how it works, but use these materials as an interesting and fun way to get kids practicing their observation, discussion, experimentation, problem solving and questioning skills.
  • Flubber can be stored in an airtight container or Ziploc bag for a few weeks.
  • Flubber can be bounced, stretched, etc. Look for different kinds of investigations with this material and make sure students share everything they tried. One difference between flubber and oobleck is that oobleck does not bounce. What are some other ways they are different? What are some ways that they are the same?
  • Cleanup: DO NOT POUR FLUBBER DOWN THE DRAIN!!! It can clog your sink. Instead, leave it out to dry, then throw out the chunk of dried flubber. You can also “remake” dried oobleck by adding water to it.
  • If the flubber gets stuck in someone’s hair, clothes or on the carpet, use white vinegar to clean it.
  • For more information on the science behind flubber, see this page on Wikipedia.
  • Try the Oobleck activity in this curriculum for more fun messing around with interesting substances.
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