If you love making homemade slime and dabbling in science then you will love this color changing slime recipe. We already know what great fun and science slime is to make, but we can also play around with adding different science activities too. Check out how to make this easy sun activated color changing slime by adding one special ingredient! Isn’t science cool?
COLOR CHANGING SLIME RECIPE THAT’S SUN ACTIVATED!
SLIME MAKING SUMMER SCIENCE
Talk about awesome summer science or year-round science if you live somewhere tropical! Recently we made a similar UV color changing slime with sun activated beads that we had a blast with.
Then I saw sun activated pigment powder, and knew we had to try it! Even my husband had to get his hands on this one!
We used our super simple saline solution slime recipe with the addition of the one special ingredient, photochromic powder! This one turns from pink to purple in the presence of ultraviolet rays. Wait for a bright sunny day for an amazing transformation.
Watch the saline solution slime video and find the directions for adding your sun activated pigment powder below.
MAKING YOURÂ HOMEMADEÂ SLIME RECIPE
All of our holiday, seasonal, and unique slimes use one of our 4 basic slime recipes that are super easy to make! We make slime all the time, and these slimes have become our go-to favorite slime making recipes.
I will always let you know which recipe we used in our photographs, but I will also tell you which of the other basic recipes will work too! Usually you can interchange several of the recipes depending on what you have for slime supplies.
THIS SLIME: SALINE SOLUTION SLIME RECIPE
Make sure to read through our recommended slime supplies and print out a slime supplies checklist for your next trip to the store.
You can also try this color chaining slime recipe with our liquid starch slime recipe or our borax slime recipe. If you are in the UK or Canada, you will want to stick with the saline solution slime recipe (contact solution slime recipe).
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
COLOR CHANGING SLIME RECIPE HOW-TO
I highly suggest you read through our recommended slime recipe supplies list and our troubleshooting guide if you aren’t familiar with making slime. All you need is a bit of practice and the right supplies!
You can read about the science behind the slime below as well as find all of our handy slime making resources! I will also include Amazon affiliate links at the bottom to show you what we used for this slime recipe.
YOU WILL NEED:
- 1/2 Cup of Elmer’s White Washable PVA School Glue
- 1/2 Cup of Water
- 1/2 tbsp of Baking Soda
- 1 tbsp of Saline Solution
- 1 tbsp of Photo Chromic Pigment Powder (as shown below)
HOW TO MAKE KEYWORD COLOR CHANGING SLIME:
STEP 1:  In a bowl mix 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup of glue well to combine completely.
STEP 2: Now’s the time to add (color, glitter, or confetti)! Remember when you add color to white glue, the color will be lighter. Use clear glue for jewel toned colors!
You can never add too much (ADD IN )! Mix the (ADD IN) and color into the glue and water mixture.
STEP 3:Â Stir in 1/4- 1/2 tsp baking soda.
Baking soda helps to firm and form the slime. You can play around with how much you add but we prefer between 1/4 and 1/2 tsp per batch. I get asked all the time why do you need baking soda for slime. Baking soda helps to improve the firmness of the slime. You can experiment with your own ratios!
STEP 4: Mix in 1 tbsp saline solution and stir until slime forms and pulls away from sides of the bowl.  This is exactly how much you will need with the Target Sensitive Eyes brand, but other brands may differ slightly!
If your slime still feels too sticky, you may need a few more drops of saline solution. As I mentioned above, start by squirting a few drops of the solution onto your hands and kneading your slime longer. You can always add but you can’t take away. Saline solution is preferred over contact solution.
STEP 5:Â Start kneading your slime! It will appear stringy at first but just work it around with your hands and you will notice the consistency changes. You can also put it in a clean container and set it aside for 3 minutes, and you will also notice the change in consistency!Â
SLIME TIP:Â Â We always recommend kneading your slime well after mixing. Kneading the slime really helps to improve itsw2 consistency. The trick with this slime is to put a few drops of the saline soluti9n onto your hands before picking up the slime.
You can knead the slime in the bowl before you pick it up as well. This slime is stretchy but can be stickier. However, keep in mind that although adding more activator (saline solution) reduces the stickiness, and it will eventually create a stiffer slime.
SLIME MAKING TIPS
We used white PVA school glue, but you can also try clear PVA school glue as well. We used clear glue of our UV slime with the sun activated beads!
Once you have mixed your glue, water, and baking soda, you will mix in 1 tbsp of the pigment powder. Please noted that when working with pigments like this, you need to measure and mix carefully and slowly so as to not spread it all around your work area.
It will take an extra minute or two to fully incorporate the powder into your glue and water mixture so don’t get frustrated that it does not happen immediately upon adding it.
Once you add your slime activator (saline solution), the slime will come together with a nice smooth and even color like you see in the pictures below.
Time to take the slime outside! It would also be fun to make outside in the shade. Â We were super excited to watch it change color, so we didn’t want to chance a sneak preview!
TRY MORE SLIME SCIENCE: MAGNETIC SLIME
Your color changing slime recipe starts out a pretty shade of pink but just wait…
After we made the slime, we headed out to the backyard. You can see that almost immediately upon stepping out our back door, our slime was already changing color!
By the time we got our sun activated slime recipe out to the table, it was definitely activated and a very bright purple. The color changing happens very quickly so be prepared and don’t blink!
However, if you grab the slime to reveal the bottom of it, you can see that part of the slime hasn’t been exposed to the UV rays. It’s still pink! Not for long though, this slime will change immediately.
You can keep lifting the slime to reveal the non-sun activated areas on the bottom!
HOW DO YOU STORE SLIME?
Slime lasts quite a while! I get a lot of questions regarding how I store my slime. We use reusable containers in either plastic or glass. Make sure to keep your slime clean and it will last for several weeks. I love the deli-style containers I have listed in my recommended slime supplies list.
If you want to send kids home with a bit of slime from a camp, party, or classroom project, I would suggest packages of reusable containers from the dollar store or grocery store or even Amazon. For large groups, we have used condiment containers and labels as seen here.
We have the best resources to look through before, during, and after making your (KEYWORD) slime! Make sure to go back and read the slime science above too!
WHAT ARE ULTRAVIOLET RAYS?
This sun activated, ultraviolet slime needs some sunscreen! UV rays are invisible rays of energy that come directly from the sun. There are 3 types of rays A. B, and C. As harmful and damaging as the suns rays can be, they can also be healing.
The beads contain small amounts of a photochromatic color changing pigment that reacts with the presence of ultraviolet rays. All you need is natural light!
I bet you can find some more cool ways to explore these UV color changing beads for ultraviolet rays awareness. Of course, simple bracelets and necklaces can alert kids when the UV rays are strong! A great reminder to make sure you have used your sunscreen.
Make a batch of clear glue slime and white glue slime (using the same recipe) and see if there’s a difference!
SLIME SCIENCE
We always like to include a bit of homemade slime science around here! Slime is 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 slime science all about? 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…
You add the borate ions to the mixture, and it then 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 rubbery 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! Experiment with making the slime more or less viscous with varying amounts of foam beads. Can you change the density?
Did you know that slime aligns with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)?Â
It does and you can use slime making to explore states of matter and its interactions. Find out more below…
This color changing slime recipe will surely be a hit this summer with the kids! Â Great for your summer science camp, you can make several batches and send each kid home with his or her own ultraviolet ray indicator slime!
We also have plenty of great SCIENCE activities if you need more ideas to add to your day!
MORE SLIME MAKING RESOURCES!
You will find everything you ever wanted to know about making homemade slime right here, and if you have questions, just ask me!
HOW TO GET SLIME OUT OF CLOTHES
21+ EASY HOMEMADE SLIME RECIPES
SLIME SCIENCE KIDS CAN UNDERSTAND!
YOUR BIGGEST SLIME QUESTIONS ANSWERED!
THE AMAZING BENEFITS THAT COME OUT OF SLIME MAKING WITH KIDS!
AMAZING COLOR CHANGING SLIME RECIPE FOR KIDS!
Try more fun homemade slime recipes right here. Click on the link or on the image below.
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
With the color changing slime, does it go back to pink when you take it back inside? Will UV lights, like in a school, activate the color change before you get outside?
Yes, it will go back forth in color! It’s very cool. Indoor lights at least in our house don’t change the color, but if you put it near a window it will start. I do have a mini video of this happening on the FB page.
Can you use thermachromic powder instead so that its heat activated, thus changes color with the heat from your hands??
Yes, you can but I have not tinkered with the amount needed is all.