Are struggling to find the best slime recipes that fit your needs? Or are you having trouble finding the ingredients or need? We have plenty of alternative slime recipes! Maybe you need a taste safe slime or a borax free slime, or you want a classic slime recipe. We have a slime that is perfect for everyone on your list. Read on for more!
 ALTERNATIVE SLIME RECIPES TO MAKE WITH KIDS!
SLIME RECIPE UPDATE
I first wrote this article several years ago about alternative slime recipes because readers were having trouble finding liquid starch where they lived. This will definitely be true for places like Canada and the UK. Additionally, borax powder is not available or instructed to use everywhere.
Below you are going to find quite a few unique ways to make homemade slime with the kids.
- Learn how to make slime with glue.
- Explore how to make slime without glue.
- Discover how to make edible slime.
- See how to make slime without borax.
Over the years this page has grown to include many different slime recipes and has become quite popular. I want to take a minute and introduce you to our different categories of slimes. At the bottom of this page, you will also find some great slime making resources.
BASIC SLIME RECIPES (CLASSIC)
These slime recipes all use glue and some sort of boron as a slime activator including borax, sodium borate, or boric acid. These ingredients come in the form of saline solution, liquid starch, eye drops, and borax powder.
Click on each blue link below to see the slime recipe, read the instructions and tips, and watch a full-length video of the slime being made.
ALTERNATIVE SLIME SCIENCE
This specific science information is useful with our Basic Slime Recipes from above.
We always like to include a bit of homemade slime science around here. Slime really does make for an excellent chemistry demonstration and kids love it too! Mixtures, substances, polymers, cross-linking, states of matter, elasticity, and viscosity are just a few of the science concepts that can be explored with homemade slime!
What’s the science behind the slime? The borate ions in the slime activators (sodium borate, borax powder, or boric acid) mix with the PVA (polyvinyl-acetate) glue and forms this cool stretchy substance. This is called cross-linking!
The glue is a polymer and is made up of long, repeating, and identical strands or molecules. These molecules with flow past one another keeping the glue in a liquid state. Until…
SLIME AND NON-NEWTONIAN FLUIDS
When you add the borate ions to the mixture, it starts to connect these long strands together. They begin to tangle and mix until the substance is less like the liquid you started with and thicker and rubberier like slime! Slime is a polymer.
Picture the difference between wet spaghetti and leftover spaghetti the next day. As the slime forms the tangled molecule strands are much like the clump of spaghetti!
Is slime a liquid or solid? We call it a Non-newtonian fluid because it’s a little bit of both!
SLIME FOR NGSS:Â Did you know that slime aligns with the Next Generation Science Standards? It does and you can use slime making to explore states of matter and its interactions. Check out NGSS 2-PS1-1 for more information!
Read more about slime science here!
SLIME MAKING SAFETY NOTES
Here are a few basic on slime making safety, but you can click here for more information.
- Making slime is a chemistry experiment and a fun one too! However, like any cool science experiments, they should be done with adult supervision.
- Adults should measure and handle all chemicals used when making slime. Also, slime activities should be properly cleaned up afterwards. Disinfect surfaces, mixing tools, and containers when you are finished with your slime experiment.
- Wash hands thoroughly after playing with slime.
- Do not switch out ingredients if not listed. Many slimes contain borax or a form of borax, even liquid starch which contains sodium borate. Check labels for ingredients. We have never experienced any reactions, but you must decide what is best for your situation.
BEST ALTERNATIVE SLIME RECIPES FOR KIDS
Below you will find a few more slime recipe categories including borax free slimes and edible slime recipes and slime without glue. There will be some overlap between these two categories, but there are some differences as well.
You can click on the blue category links below to see all the options available to you and what ingredients you will need to make those alternative slime recipes.
(borax free AND taste-safe or edible)
You will find recipes that include candy, JELLO, chia seeds, fiber powder and more! Some of these edible slime recipes require cooking and some do not! Check out the fun videos for marshmallow slime and gummy bear slime.
MORE FUN ALTERNATIVE SLIME RECIPES TO CHECK OUT!
CORNSTARCH DOUGH
Another cool tactile play recipe and science experiment is cornstarch dough which uses cornstarch! Not all that similar in consistency, it is still great experience for kids and covers Non-newtonian fluids as well.
IVORY SOAP SLIME
We stumbled upon this as a happy accident! Ivory soap slime is made with a couple of bars of ivory soap and a cool science experiment!
Make a borax free version of our homemade fidget putty with this cool idea!
TELL ME! SHOW ME! I would love to hear which of these alternative slime recipes you tried, which ones you loved, which ones failed, or which ones you reinvented!
No more having to print out a WHOLE blog post for just one recipe!
Get our basic slime recipes in an easy to print format so you can knock out the activities!
—>>>Â Â FREE SLIME RECIPE CARDS
WHICH ALTERNATIVE SLIME RECIPES WILL YOU TRY NEXT?
Try more fun homemade slime recipes right here. Click on the link or on the image below.
Thank you for including our Fybogel slime. Amazing ideas in this post!
Your welcome! I hope there is something for everyone!
That is cool
I mixed the gel inside an ice pack with glue, some water, a little sugar, starch, cornflour and eye drops and microwaved it…it is’nt forming a slime kindly guide me further
I noticed you used cornflour. Is that the same as cornstarch or corn meal? That may be your problem.
Does liquid detergent still work? I love to make slime like you and I’m also tried slime with detergent and it really worked for me. Thanks