Magnetic Slime

Pull together a batch of magnetic slime!

Polymers are really big molecules, made up of lots and lots of smaller molecules joined together. They can make materials bouncy like a rubber ball, stiff like a plastic toy, or stretchy like a piece of gum. One great way to play around with polymers -- and to do some hands-on experimentation with chemistry in general -- is to make your own slime.

In this experiment, we uplevel your standard green goo to jet-black magnetic slime that will magically move and dance without you even touching it!

Follow along below or in our How to Make Magnetic Slime video tutorial!

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Materials you'll need

Step-by-step tutorial

Step 1
Gather your materials.

Step 2
Add a tablespoon of iron oxide powder into your disposable cup or bowl.

Step 3
Add 2 tablespoons of liquid starch. Use a craft stick to mix the ingredients until the liquid is uniform and smooth.

Step 4
Add 2 tablespoons of white glue and stir your mixture until you get an even consistency. You may need to scrape the mixture off your craft stick periodically to keep mixing.

Step 5
At this point, we put on our gloves as things start to get a little messy!

Scoop out the black slime and knead it with your hands. It should start to dry as you do so. Keep kneading until your slime is smooth and dry. If needed, you can gently dab it on a paper towel to help with the drying process.

Step 6
Your slime should now be safe to handle without getting your hands black!

Take your magnets and see how they interact with the slime.
Try stretching out a long tendril of slime.

Place the magnets near the slime and watch as the slime slowly creeps over to be closer to the magnet.

Final result!
For some extra experimentation, try varying your ratio of iron oxide to glue to liquid starch and observe the results. Depending on your ratio, the slime can either be very thick or thin and it will interact differently with the magnets.

What combination worked the best for you?