How To Make "GAK"

#HowToTuesday Cub Scouts love to cover their hands with sticky, gooey stuff... and then touch your couch and curtains, or rub it into the carpet.  GAK is a fun science experiment that satisfies those needs to have gooey stuff in you hands and produces a fun toy for them to take home (and rub into the carpet at their own homes). You will need the following items per boy:

• 8 oz of white school glue (like Elmer's, but any brand works great)
• 1 tsp Borax (found in the laundry detergent isle)
• 8 oz of hot water
• 4 oz of cool water
• Mixing bowls
• Measuring Cups
• Food Coloring (optional)
• 1 tsp Spoon
• 2 spoons (use separate spoons during the first steps of mixing)

Lets start mixing!

Empty out the glue into the mixing bowl. To make sure that we get all of the glue out I like to fill the bottles 1/4 full of cool water (2 oz) from the tap and shake out the rest.  This is where the 4 oz of cool water comes into play. You should now have 8 oz of glue and 4 oz of water in your mixing bowl.  Place a few drops of food coloring in and start mixing until all ingredients are completely incorporated. Next, measure 8 oz of hot tap water in your measuring cup and add 1 tsp of Borax. Mix these two ingredients together until the Borax dissolves in the water. Don't worry, the water will be a little cloudy and its alright if there are a few particles of Borax floating around in the cup. This next step is when the magic happens.  Pour the Borax water into the mixing bowl of the glue/water mixture and start mixing together.  Instantly as you combine the two mixtures you will see the reaction beginning.  Eventually it will become to thick for you to mix with the spoon... time to get your hands dirty. Complete the mixing process by squishing the mixture with your hands and fingers. Store your newly created slime in a zip baggy for the boys to take home.  

Tips:

If you have been mixing for ever and there seems to still be a large amount of water at the bottom of the bowl. Remove your GAK and pour out the water into the sink. Place your GAK back into the bowl and mix again until it is a smooth / rubbery consistency. Repeat if needed.

Optional food coloring... I would suggest using the food coloring. Especially if you have a large group of scouts.  The boys will recognize which GAK is theirs based on the color they used or even better, what color they created with multiple colors.

Wash your hands after use. Borax has been known to irritate your skin if left on too long.

Keep it away from the carpet. It is somewhat easy to pick it off the carpet... unless someone has stepped on it.  Also, do not let it sit on your clothing.  It will adhere itself to any fibers and will actually try to travel through the fabric (found this one out the hard why with my daughter and her t-shirt).

Most of all - HAVE FUN!