Simple Science and STEM for Every Day

Elmer’s Clear Glue Slime Recipe for Kids

Make liquid glass or crystal clear slime with borax. Our Elmer’s clear glue slime recipe is amazingly easy, and it’s the perfect chemistry and science demonstration the kids love. We stumbled upon a fun little fact to get our slime to look as clear as glass. Homemade slime is an awesome activity to share with kids, and we have the best slime recipes to share with you!

MAKE CLEAR SLIME WITH ELMER’S GLUE

Make liquid glass or at least crystal clear slime with the kids. Our Elmer's clear glue slime recipe is amazingly easy, and it's the perfect chemistry and science demonstration the kids love. We stumbled upon a fun little fact to get our slime to look as clear as glass. Homemade slime is an awesome activity to share with kids, and we have the best slime recipes to share with you!

MAKE SLIME AT HOME

Are you new to the slime craze or have you been loving slime all along? I absolutely NEVER thought I would have tried making homemade slime so many years ago. My biggest thought was how can I ever get it to turn out like the pictures. Then I made some…

And you know what? Making slime is actually pretty easy. We now have a growing handful of homemade slime recipes that I use over and over again because they work so well.

ELMER’S CLEAR GLUE SLIME

Yes, Elmer’s Washable School Glue is absolutely fantastic for making slime quickly and easily. That’s exactly why you will see us use it each and every time. Except, I just want to you know, I am NOT PAID by Elmer’s brand to represent their glue. It just works that well, and my goal is to show you how easily we make our slime every time.

Also try these Elmer’s Glue slime recipes…

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!

  CLICK HERE FOR YOUR FREE SLIME RECIPE CARDS!

CLEAR SLIME THAT LOOKS LIKE LIQUID GLASS!

We {my son really} stumbled upon one fascinating little tip to really get your slime to look like crystal clear glass, and I will leave that at the very end for you to discover too.

Though, I will tell you, that the best way to achieve crystal clear and glass-like slime is by using our borax slime recipe.

Our other basic slime recipes {although they contain borons too} will leave you with a cloudy clear slime instead unless you add food coloring, but we wanted an absolutely crystal clear slime that looks like liquid glass!

ELMER’S CLEAR GLUE SLIME RECIPE UPDATE

I have a lot of readers express that their clear glue slime seems brittle and crumbly, so you are not alone if you experience this. White glue and clear glue are a bit different in viscosity and make slightly different slimes. I have always found that clear glue slime is simply thicker.

We have been experimenting with the recipe just a bit to find a better ratio of ingredients. So for this easy clear glue slime,  we reduced the amount of borax used.

For the most stretchy slime,  I would hands down try the saline solution slime recipe as it’s our go-to slime recipe for easy, stretchy slime making.

However, if you really want to make super clear slime, this clear glue slime recipe is the best!

The secret to stretching slime is to be move slowly and pull gently. Dues to its chemical composition it will break when you pull fast and hard.

Read more about the science below. You can break off small blobs and really stretch them quite thin for a super clean look. You can even watch us make it live on our Facebook page!

  CLICK HERE FOR YOUR FREE SLIME RECIPE CARDS!

CLEAR GLUE SLIME RECIPE

INGREDIENTS FOR CLEAR SLIME:

  • 1/2 cup Elmer’s Washable PVA Clear Glue
  • 1/2 cup water to mix with glue and 1/2 cup of warm water to mix with the borax powder
  • 1/4 tsp Borax Powder {laundry aisle}
  • Measuring cups, bowl, spoon or craft sticks

HOW TO MAKE ELMER’S CLEAR GLUE SLIME STEP BY STEP

Note: We used a full cup of glue for this slime activity. You can also get a nice pile of slime with only a 1/2 cup.

STEP 1

Measure 1 cup of clear glue into a bowl, and then add 1 cup of water to the glue. Stir to combine.

STEP 2

Measure out 1/2 teaspoon of borax powder and 1 cup of hot water {hot tap water is fine and does not need to be boiled} as seen below to make your slime activator.

This is best done by adults! If you are halving the recipe, use 1/4 borax powder to 1/2 cup warm water.

STEP 3

Add the borax powder to the water and stir well to combine. This is your slime activator. You are making a saturated solution and you will see a few particles still floating around and settling to the bottom. Spend a minute stirring to make sure the powder is well incorporated.

STEP 4

Add the borax solution {borax powder and water} to the glue/water mixture. Start stirring! Your slime will begin to form instantly. Keep stirring until your slime has formed and remove immediately to a dry container.

With our new ratio of borax powder to water, you should not have any leftover liquid in the bowl. If you do keep stirring. With higher ratios of borax to water, you may have leftover liquid.

STEP 5

Continue to knead slime with your hands for several minutes to improve the consistency of 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 (borax powder) reduces the stickiness, it will eventually create a stiffer slime.  You can always add but you can’t take away!

HOW DO YOU MAKE SLIME?

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)? 

It does and you can use slime making to explore states of matter and its interactions. Find out more below…

HOW TO MAKE CLEAR SLIME LIKE LIQUID GLASS! 

We made this large batch of slime and it was filled with air bubbles, so it wasn’t crystal clear and it didn’t look like glass at all! But it was still a lot of fun and cool to play with too.

We stuck it in a glass container and put a lid on it and it ended up sitting on the counter untouched for a day and a half while we were busy with swim and school and friends.

My son checked on it and noticed that the large air bubbles were much less large. We let it sit even longer and the bubbles were even smaller and almost nonexistent. Well, there’s only so long you can let the slime sit before playing with it again.

We did test this out on three separate batches of our Elmer’s clear glue slime to just check it out.

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!

  CLICK HERE FOR YOUR FREE SLIME RECIPE CARDS!

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 clear slime! Make sure to go back and read the slime science above too!

MORE FUN SLIME IDEAS

Check out some of our favorite slime recipes…

HOW TO MAKE CLEAR SLIME 

Check out our BEST & COOLEST slime recipes by clicking on the photo below!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. sammy

    i tried this but i wasted a whole cup of glue because this didn’t work… it broke in pieces and wasn’t like slime at all

  3. Zahara hernandez-cook

    Hello i was checking out how to make clear slime. Can i use my contact lens solution instead of borax because borax is very unsafe! Thanks!

  5. littlebins

    Well you can make slime without borax, but if you want crystal clear slime you need to use borax or you will have cloudy slime. If you plan to add food coloring then you can use our liquid starch or saline slime recipes!

  6. littlebins

    Hmm. Did you follow the measurements exactly. A whole cup of glue needs a whole cup of water in addition to the borax solution.

  7. littlebins

    It’s actually not unsafe and you can check out Steve Spangler, scientist on Facebook to read more about that. If you want completely clear slime, you can not use saline solution because you also need to add baking soda which will disrupt the clarity.

  8. Emily

    At first I was very skeptical of this because of all the water involved, but I just tried it about 20 mins ago and I am very impressed! I used about 1/2 cup of glue and 1/2 cup water, then the 1 cup of borax water, and I now have about 2 cups of really nice slime. Could have used less of the borax water, but still…really nice recipe. Thank you!

  10. Maya

    Hey I live in the UK and my mum doesn’t let me order things online and I want to know if contact lens solution would work as well???

  11. Haillie Sloan

    I used this recipe and I never had made Clear slime before and I love this recipe it works if we had to give stars I would give it five star rating.

  14. Kathryn

    hi, thanks for the recipe! could you please advise me on how to store the slime? I’m wanting to make it for Christmas presents, wondering how long that will last for and maybe how to revive it? thanks

  16. Mary

    How much slime does this recipe make? My son has a Market Day project and needs to make enough to pass out to 30 kids. I was thinking we would just give them 1/3 to 1/2 cup portions. So I’m trying to decide how much glue to purchase.

  17. Brooke

    Same here. Just turned out crumbly. I even added a 1/2 c more water but then it was just a sticky, glob. I expected more slimey. It’s rubbery and breaks apart easily. Sad!

  18. India

    This recipe has been great and easy for me! Made over 10 x now. It works very well however I have realized there are many different factors that contribute to the gooeyness of the slime. Most of all ive realized never add too much borax! Any more than the 1ts and u will have hard slime.thanks again littlebins!

  19. littlebins

    Makes a great science experiment doesn’t it! I appreciate the comment. Have you checked out our thinking putty recipe?

  21. jennifer folkert

    Same problem with slime that broke apart when stretched beyond an inch. Made with about 3/4 tsp borax, everything else the same and it worked perfectly.

  22. littlebins

    It can take a little experimenting depending on where you live too. Borax isn’t my most favorite slime recipe but it does seem to be a popular one!

  25. Ashley

    The same just happened to us:( My kids were so excited for the clear slime and I hate wasting glue. Bummer!!

  26. Victoria

    Hello,
    I love all of your slime recipes but I don’t have liquid starch,
    Ware do I find some?

  27. Hannah

    Is there a website where I can get borax/ clear glue cheaply because a small bottle of Elmer’s cost £10.00 on eBay!! Also should I add lotion or will that ruin it?

  28. littlebins

    Sounds like you don’t live in the US? I have never added lotion to our slime recipes, so I wouldn’t recommend it unless you find a different recipe. Have you checked Amazon for glue or is that not available?

  29. Donna

    This recipe was really odd all the slime went like rubber no stretch has been the issue every time we do with clear clue help???? We used borax

  30. littlebins

    Yes, it seems like clear glue is not the stretchiest with the borax slime recipe. You have to be much more patient with the stretch. Unless you need clear glue for a specific reason, try the saline solution slime recipe instead.

  34. littlebins

    For a truly clear slime you need to use the borax recipe. The borax solution is the slime activator for totally clear slime. The others will be cloudier.

  37. littlebins

    Borax slime is more difficult to make and seems to take some practice. You can thin the glue with an extra 1/4 cup of water.

  38. littlebins

    My favorite is the saline slime recipe we have but you won’t get a really clear slime, but honestly if you want really fun slime make the saline recipe!

  40. Laurynn

    If you just add the borax, it will turn out that way. You have to mix while you pour it in the borax. This always works for me!

  45. Alex

    My daughter loved our slime, but now we have some on our clothes. Do we wash the clothes normally?

  48. Tim Aben

    We put lotion in all of our slimes. The kids LOVE it! It makes the slime silky and smells amazing! It doesn’t affect the fun factor at all, and actuall y enhances it!

  49. J Bianca Jackson

    Do you think that microwaving the slime (possibly in short increments with stirring in between) might help get rid of the bubbles faster?

  50. J Bianca Jackson

    Or mixing the slime in a warm water bath? I guess I am thinking about how annealing works to create order in materials science.

  51. Christina

    Add some play doh to it it will turn whatever color the play doh is but it helps to not have the slime so stiff not to much though… It would turn sticky but the right amount and it will turn it into an actual slime with good feel and be stretchy…

  53. Angela

    My grand daughter and I put lotion in often. We use a hand lotion from bath and bod, smells delicious! If you’re not sure it will work just add a bit to a small amount.

  54. littlebins

    Yes, you can add a bit of lotion. You can even replace the 1/2 cup of water you mix into the glue with a 1/2 cup of lotion!

  56. littlebins

    I pick off as much slime as possible, rinse in the sink with dawn dish detergent so that the majority of it is off the clothing, and then wash as usual! Works well for us.

  57. Sophia Ofshtein

    My daughter and I just made this and added blue dye and glitter! It’s so beautiful, love the noises it makes. It’s honestly the best slime I’ve ever made! Good consistency and fun to play with!

  58. littlebins

    One batch of slime fills approx 5 condiment size containers, just enough but not too much!

  61. Jennifer Engelbrecht

    I never comment, but this was INSANE. Best slime I’ve ever made, and my kids have been making us make slime for months on end. You people have saved the day, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!

  62. Shawn M

    Hey, I want to make pancake syrup colored clear-ish slime…. what color powder can I use with this recipe for that pancake syrup look!!? or any other suggestions?

  63. littlebins

    You probably want to pick up both brown and red food coloring. You don’t want to use paint or pigment powder since you still need it to be clear. We made a honey colored slime this way.

  64. Shawn M

    Thanks.. you know how many drops of each id need, or less red and more brown. I can speed up the color testing process without wasting coloring!

  65. Emily Tabor

    We followed this recipe and the slime is amazing. Thank you so much!!! We were not patient to let the bubbles go but the bottom 1/2 inch was super clear after 24 12 hrs.. The kids keep saying it looks like a water fall as the love to streach it.

  67. Ginger Daubenhauser

    We made this slime. We halved the recipe and boiled the water to dissolve the Borax. It came out perfect. Actually, the best we’ve made. (We’ve made 18 before this one)
    Thank you for a great recipe.

  69. Sara K. Murphy

    I was impressed that this slime recipe worked out so well. We felt like the slime was sticky so we added 1/8 more borax and another 1/2 cup of water which seemed to make it harden more. I played with 2 children who have sensory processing issues and they both interacted for awhile with it and loved the clearness and color. I also added a few pony beads to the slime.

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