Making a Mess with Oobleck

After making goo with Amelia yesterday, I decided that we could make oobleck today to play with. 

WARNING: Oobleck is VERY MESSY project!

I got a large bow and added equal portions of cornstarch and water, then stirred.  I let Amelia try to help me stir but it is quite difficult.  Once the cornstarch and water start to mix together, they start showing the different properties of a solid when poked/stirred and a liquid when left alone.

I put a cheap plasic tablecloth on the tile floor in the dining room.  I took Amelia's shorts off so they wouldn't get all messy.  She still had panties, a shirt, and an apron to help cover her shirt up from the oobleck.  I had her sit next to the bowl of oobleck and picked some up in my hand.  At first she was hesitant but soon after, she put her hands in the bowl too.  I tried showing her that when you keep squeezing it into a ball, it stays hard.  And when you let go, it gets all liquidy and drips down.  She tried to squeeze it to make a ball but wasn't quick enough so it ended up just dripping everywhere.

After about 10 minutes of staying clean and keeping her hands over the bowl, Amelia decided it was time to experiment with the oobleck and get messy.  She would grab some from the bowl and hold it up over her arm, getting oobleck on her hands, arm, and the tablecloth.  This lasted briefly.  She then moved to dripping oobleck on her feet and legs.  At the end, she had both hands full of oobleck to drip on herself.

Can you guess where we headed after we were done playing with oobleck??

Correct!  Straight to the BATHTUB!

I tried to wipe as much off  her body as I could.  Luckily most of the oobleck had dried and was stuck to her body.  I carefully carried her upstairs and put her in the tub.  She wasn't happy because she wanted to play with the oobleck some more.  I think 20 minutes was a decent amount of time to play and get messy, don't you?  Next time I let her play with oobleck, I think I will do it outside and let her wear a bathing suit or something.  Then when we are done, she can run through the sprinklers or get hosed off with water.