Make Glow in the Dark Slime! This week we tackled this slime making challenge to bring you a cool glowing slime recipe the kids will love. We used our super easy basic saline solution recipe and added a glow powder for some super glowing slime that doesn’t even need a black light. Making homemade slime is an awesome activity for kids.
HOW TO MAKE GLOW IN THE DARK SLIME!
If you have been wanting to make glow in the dark slime, now’s the perfect time because we have the perfect glowing slime recipe to share with you. You do need a special powder to add to your slime recipe, but you don’t need a black light.
This slime just needs to charge in the sun for a bit! I will tell you that we tried glow in the dark paint from the craft store, and while it worked a little bit, we definitely didn’t get the cool glow like we did from using the powder.
If you are going to make and take your slime into a dark room, I highly suggest keeping it on a tray to avoid getting it on furniture, bedding, or rugs!
GLOW IN THE DARK SLIME RECIPE
The base for this glowing slime uses one of our most basic slime recipes, just three ingredients which are saline solution, baking soda, and clear glue.
Now if you don’t want to use saline solution, you can absolutely test out one of our other basic recipes using liquid starch or borax powder.
Our easy, “how to make” slime recipes will show you how to master slime in 5 minutes! We have spent years tinkering with our 4 favorite basic slime recipes to make sure you can make the BEST slime every time!
We believe learning how to make slime shouldn’t be disappointing or frustrating! That’s why we want to take the guess work out of making slime!
- Discover the best slime ingredients and get the right slime supplies the first time!
- Make easy fluffy slime recipes that really work!
- Achieve awesome fluffy, slimy consistency the kids love!
GLOW IN THE DARK SLIME INGREDIENTS
- Clear Washable PVA School Glue
- Saline Solution (must contain sodium borate and boric acid as ingredients)
- Water
- Glow Powder (see Amazon commission links below for what we tried)
- Baking Soda
Plus, Bowl/Spoon/Measuring Cups and Spoons
GET YOUR GLOW IN THE DARK SLIME RECIPE!
Each of our basic slime recipes, that we use for all of our seasonal, unique, and holiday slimes, have their own complete slime making page. This way you can see a complete page dedicated to making the specific slime!
NOTE: To make glow in the dark slime you can also check out the full recipe below! We used our favorite, super stretchy and fun, saline solution slime recipe. Click on the box below to see a cool video of the slime being made!
Make sure to grab your FREE slime recipe cheat sheet below and check out how we make this glow in the dark slime.
Follow along with the pictures and check out the steps below!
GLOW IN THE DARK SLIME INSTRUCTIONS
- Add 1/2 cup of clear washable PVA school glue to a bowl.
- Mix glue with 1/2 cup of water.
- Stir in 1/2 tsp of baking soda (adds firmness to the slime)
- Add 1/2 tablespoon of glow powder and mix well.
- Next add 1 tablespoon of saline solution (slime activator)
- Stir slime well until it pulls away easily from sides and bottom of bowl!
TIP: Once you have thoroughly mixed slime with a spoon, sprinkle a few drops of saline solution on your hands. Now you can easily knead your glowing slime either in the bowl or out of the bowl for a few minutes. It will be very stretchy!
STEP 1: Set up slime making supplies.
STEP 2: Measure and add clear glue to your bowl.
STEP 3: Measure and add water.
STEP 4: Add baking soda.
STEP 5: Add glow powder,
STEP 6: Stir all the ingredients together.
STEP 7: Add the slime activator, saline solution.
STEP 8: Mix the slime together until it thickens.
STEP 9: Knead the slime for a few minutes until it becomes very stretchy.
GLOW IN THE DARK SLIME STORAGE
Slime can last 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 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 as seen here.
Want to have all our basic recipes handy and in one place?
CLICK on the button below to download your FREE SLIME RECIPES cheat sheets.
SLIME SCIENCE, CHEMISTRY FOR KIDS, AND FUN!
We always like to include a bit of homemade slime science around here, and that’s perfect for STEM which is science, technology, engineering, art, and math. We have a brand new series out on NGSS science standards, so you can read how this will fit in nicely too!
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…
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 thick and stretchy like slime! That makes slime 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!
Read more about slime science here!
WHAT MAKES SLIME GLOW IN THE DARK?
The glow in the powder is from phosphorescent crystals. This powder absorbs light and then gives off the lovely glow over a length of time (before needing to be recharged). This glow occurs when electrons absorb energy from light, so make sure to find a sunny place.
When you play with your glow in the dark slime is a dark place, these same electrons produce a glow which is energy in the form of light we can see. There isn’t a chemical reaction that occurs except for the slime making process.
You might also like our color changing sun activated slime recipe!
MORE SLIME MAKING RESOURCES!
Everything you need to know about making slime is below! Did you know we also have fun with science activities too?
HOW TO GET SLIME OUT OF CLOTHES!
SLIME SCIENCE KIDS CAN UNDERSTAND!
WATCH OUR AMAZING SLIME VIDEOS
BEST INGREDIENTS FOR MAKING SLIME!
THE AMAZING BENEFITS THAT COME OUT OF SLIME MAKING WITH KIDS!
GLOW IN THE DARK SLIME IS JUST ONE OF OUR MANY SLIMY IDEAS!
Check out our BEST & COOLEST slime recipes by clicking on the photo below!
Amber
Can I make a double or triple batch at once or does it work better to do one batch at a time?
littlebins
I have made double batches and it works great! Just remember to calculate all the ingredients!
Christie
I would love to do this for our VBS! How many batches would you recommend per 5 kids?
littlebins
1 batch per 5 kids will give them all just enough to fill a condiment size container.
Stephanie
Would we need to alter the ingredients if we add glitter or googly eyes for Halloween slime for a classroom activity?
littlebins
Googly eyes would be fun! I am not 100% sure if the glitter would affect the glow in the dark quality though. Make it an experiment and test two batches!
Callie
Will the glow in the dark still work if I use regular Elmer’s glue?
littlebins
It’s much better with the clear glue but will still glow a bit.