Kids love to make homemade flubber! Our flubber is similar to our liquid starch slime recipe but it’s thicker, stretchier, and tougher. We love both slime and flubber for a for fun science lesson. Make homemade flubber in minutes! There are tons of tons of cool ways to play with science and STEM.
HOW TO MAKE FLUBBER WITH THIS EASY FLUBBER RECIPE!
NOTE: This flubber recipe does not contain Borax powder. However, liquid starch does contain sodium borate which is part of the boron family. Please try one of our alternative recipes if you are allergic/sensitive to these ingredients. We have never experienced a skin reaction.
WHAT IS FLUBBER?
Flubber is a super thick, super stretchy, super strong slime!
WHY IS FLUBBER OR SLIME CONSIDERED SCIENCE?
Check out our BASICS OF SLIME SCIENCE here to learn a little more! It’s suited for young kids too. Slime is actually great chemistry even if it just looks like a cool sensory play idea. Slime is fascinating and the reaction between the ingredients is what makes the slime form.
SLIME SAFETY NOTE:
*Safety Disclaimer: Any science experiment has potential risks including making slime. Please use your own best judgement. Please read more of our liability and safety disclaimer here*
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. This is what is used to form the slime. You can’t just add anything that has borax in it!
We have never had any reactions, but you must decide what is best for your situation.
FLUBBER RECIPE
FLUBBER SUPPLIES:
Amazon affiliate links included for your convenience at no cost to you!
- 2 bottles Elmer’s Non Toxic Washable Glue White for a total of 1 cup
- 1/2 Cup Water {room temperature}
- 1/2 Cup Liquid Starch NEED AN ALTERNATIVE IDEA {click here}
- Glitter or food coloring optional
HOW TO MAKE FLUBBER:
STEP 1: Mix glue and water together in a container. Stir until it is well combined and a smooth consistency. Now is the perfect time to mix in color or glitter.
STEP 2: Next, add the liquid starch to the glue/water mixture. Start mixing with a spoon.
STEP 3: Switch to using your hands to combine the ingredients well. Keep mixing the flubber for a few minutes and kneading it well.
You can play with your flubber immediately or let it set up for about 15 mins or so.
Store your flubber in a container with a lid, and it should keep for several weeks unless you have many hands playing with it. When it’s done, throw it away and make a new one with one of our many HOMEMADE SLIME THEMES perfect for seasons and holiday!
Try our traditional SLIME RECIPE and compare the results. It uses similar ingredients in different amounts. Make sure to check out sand slime too!
This flubber recipe makes a huge pile!
Squeeze it, squish it, pull it, test it’s super strength.
EXTEND THE LEARNING WITH HOMEMADE FLUBBER OR SLIME!
Homemade flubber and slime is also great for building hand strength. Check out how we used both our LEGO pieces for a treasure hunt slime and mini scrabble tiles for a letter hunt slime. They both make for interesting fine motor and literacy activities!
Or how about using our flubber or slime recipe to explore emotions! You can also make slime to go along with a favorite book or to explore astronomy!
We love the way homemade flubber stretches, folds, hangs, and piles up! If you want a less firm substance than try our homemade slime recipe. Did you know that you can even blow FLUBBER BUBBLES with this recipe?
Flubber is quite thick and doesn’t leave a mess on the hands. Give your flubber a theme with one of the homemade slime ideas!
MAKE FLUBBER FOR COOL SCIENCE WITH KIDS!
Want more awesome science and STEM ideas? Click on the photos below to see our best projects.
April
March 16, 2015 at 7:56 pmI love making flubber with my students. It’s so fun and it is a great demonstration of a chemical change.
✿April✿
✿Grade School Giggles✿
isabel
March 17, 2015 at 6:52 amHi, is it possible to give sizes when you post, it says 2 bottles of glue and I can see they are small but can’t tell if they are 250 ml or 375 ml etc.
Looking forward to trying the recipes.
littlebins
December 2, 2015 at 5:35 pmThey are the 4-5oz bottles. Good point!
Cynthia Tormann
May 14, 2015 at 9:34 pmI can’t get past the dirty fingernails in the first photo (how to make Flubber). Did no one notice this when posting the picture. It’s terrible!
littlebins
December 3, 2015 at 1:06 pmSorry you are offended. We are just a mom and a son having fun at home. Hope you don’t spend to much time during the day trying to keep your kids clean.
Madeleine
January 12, 2016 at 11:38 pmHow can you have any fun if your clean? 😉 I love the picture! It’s real 🙂 this world needs more real pics in it 🙂 good for you Mama!
littlebins
January 13, 2016 at 7:51 amThanks! I always know I am going to tack some flack for it. He’s 5 and he was actually still enough to get a photo!
Alice
February 6, 2016 at 7:21 amseriously?? I raised 3 happy, healthy boys-the last one was a preemie, now 18 and 190 lbs!! my hands were always dirty and so were they-its called, bath time-read book-go nite nite-happy kids
littlebins
February 12, 2016 at 3:46 pmThanks!
Cindy
August 6, 2016 at 3:48 pmWow..rude! Obviously they were having fun and being creative..which obviously dirties your hands a bit..troll!
littlebins
August 6, 2016 at 6:48 pmIt happens. Sometimes people forget that the people behind many of these blogs are just ordinary tired moms with high energy kids!
Ann
September 25, 2016 at 11:52 amWho cares about the nails. I’m sure u have dirty nails at some time.
Kyrie
July 22, 2015 at 6:24 pmI love this idea for my 5 hooligans but unfortunately we can’t get liquid starch here in England 🙁
Do you happen to know what a good alternative for this ingredient is, that I can get in England?
Thanks so much. Oh and I absolutely love all your ideas, as do my children! 🙂
Robyn
February 12, 2016 at 11:52 amyou can google how to make liquid starch and it’s simply made with cornstarch and water so you don’t have to buy the other stuff.
littlebins
February 21, 2016 at 10:16 amNo sorry that will not produce the slime you see here.
Jessica
June 3, 2016 at 4:09 amThe fabric washing liquid from aldi works well and smells great.. Blue almat gel from Aldi
littlebins
June 3, 2016 at 11:23 amAwesome! Great to know I will mention it!
Dandi
October 9, 2015 at 2:16 amI love this recipe. I use it often in my class. It does fact have borax in the liquid starch though ..It is what causes the polymer reaction. I called the 800 number on the bottle just to ask. Sure enough, it has borax.. All liquid starches do.
littlebins
December 2, 2015 at 5:07 pmYou are correct. It is just a little kinder on sensitive skin.
Teresa
November 6, 2015 at 4:07 amI made the flubber reciper but it stick to my children hands . What do i need to do
littlebins
December 2, 2015 at 4:54 pmDid it continue to stick after it set for 5 minutes. Initially it will be sticky while mixing. Wash hands and it should be fine. Make sure you have the right measurements!
Jan Ferré
December 13, 2015 at 5:23 pmThis sounds fun – I just haven’t the faintest idea what the ingredients are! Can you describe the ingredients, so I might be able to find similar products in our local stores (in Denmark).
Merry Christmas
Jan
littlebins
December 15, 2015 at 1:57 pmHi,
Liquid starch is a laundry detergent product or can be found in major craft stores. Elmer’s washable glue is a specific brand of glue that works well. Hope that helps. Take a look on Amazon for both products.
Marina
February 11, 2016 at 7:35 pmborax/boron in Danish, or boric acid is the powder form (of the active ingredient you need to make the reaction happen) and you need only a tsp full or so with warm water to get the same reaction if you can not find liquid starch like here in the US> good luck! it’s really fun to play with. 🙂
google a recipe with borax/boron if you can find that ingredient in Denmark. the glue is like a type of wood glue, we call it “kouelym” (in South Africa), it is just a washable version of wood glue. they have clear or solid white ones here in the USA.
Ericha
December 15, 2015 at 11:33 amI tried making using this recipe and the chemical reaction never happened. It was just a gluey mess. Can you tell me what might have happened???
littlebins
December 15, 2015 at 1:55 pmHi! Well let’s see… Did you use Elmers Washable Glue? Did you mix glue with water first? How’s your liquid starch? Old? Did you give it a little shake to mix? Let me know and we can go from there.
Elizabeth
January 19, 2016 at 7:58 pmwe do not have liquid starch here in Saskatchewan. What else can I use.
Emily
January 20, 2016 at 6:55 pmFor some reason mine never became solid. Used washable glue, room temp water and liquid starch…
littlebins
February 21, 2016 at 10:29 amDid you use Elmers Washable glue? Email me at getmovingfitness@gmail.com and I can help you further!
Somesay
January 29, 2016 at 8:33 amTried making this today and it was really stringy and pretty wet. Any ideas where I went wrong?
littlebins
January 30, 2016 at 1:27 pmDid you use Elmer’s washable school glue and liquid starch? If you grabbed the wrong glue it won’t work. 2 parts glue to one part liquid starch. Let me! Email me at getmovingfitness@gmail.com if you need more help.
Marina
February 11, 2016 at 7:38 pmjust a thought, i always drain a bit of the liquid off and end up with a pretty great consistency at the end. it’s stringy at first, but then become quite gooey like slime in the store. so hard to mess it up i think. even when you put the ingredients in backwards like i’ve done more than once… it still works out! 🙂 i love the big glitter you put in littlebins. really makes it look so amazing. i used it for valentines with some red glitter and googley eyes for “I only have EYES for you” in a little 2 oz condiment container for all the kids in school.
Erin Draper
February 3, 2016 at 8:42 pmDo you know how much flubber this recipe will yield? Planning on making in my daughters class and need an idea how many batches we would need to make so each child could take some home. Thanks
littlebins
February 12, 2016 at 3:46 pmYou could easily divide into 3 portions at least. Maybe 4
BJ
February 11, 2016 at 12:20 amThe flubber is getting thin after a couple days. What can be added to firm it up some?
littlebins
February 12, 2016 at 3:45 pmI am surprised. I have not had that happen. More glue? But I am not sure that will work. What typeof climate are you in?
Nadine Fox
March 6, 2016 at 9:11 pmthis is amazing thank you so much for the instructions
myonlinecat.com
April 28, 2016 at 4:25 amThere’s definately a great deal to know about this topic.
I love all the points you made.
noname
July 8, 2016 at 1:48 amis there anything that can replace liquid starch?
littlebins
July 8, 2016 at 4:53 pmI did put together another post that you might find helpful! Check this one out: https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/alternative-slime-recipes-no-starch-borax-detergent-fiber-slimes/
karen
September 15, 2016 at 9:24 amMine seperated after a few hours. It started out great but changed. The tub we kept it in was very watery, like the water seperated from the glue. It ended up being water and soft rubbery glue, not slime anymore. What did I do wrong? I think alot of people are using liquid starch like in starch mixed with water and not the detergent type liquid amd that is why it doesnt turn into slime.
littlebins
September 15, 2016 at 3:49 pmYou need a starch like Lin It or Sta Flo to make the slime. I have never had it separate before. What were the exact ingredients you used? Feel free to email me at getmovingfitness@gmail.com.
Susan brookes
September 19, 2016 at 5:37 pmI followed the directions exactly and it’s a watery mess. My kids were disappointed! I even tried adding more corn starch……
littlebins
September 19, 2016 at 5:40 pmHi for some reason I can’t see your whole comment. However, it looks like you are using corn starch instead of liquid starch? Please feel free to email me at getmovingfitness@gmail.com and I can try to help you out!
littlebins
March 6, 2017 at 1:00 pmWell you don’t want to use corn starch in place of liquid starch for this recipe.
Joanne Schmidt
January 16, 2017 at 9:56 amIt’s difficult to find gallons of glue, I underestimated for my 6 classes after ordering online,and would like to try making my own glu. Does that work?
littlebins
March 6, 2017 at 12:59 pmNo in general homemade glue does not work and you should definitely not substitute other glues as the chemical reaction is unknown. I buy gallons of this glue off Amazon!
Emma
February 27, 2017 at 9:09 amHow do you make it I am a big slime or flubbed fan
littlebins
March 6, 2017 at 12:58 pmJust follow the directions in the post!
c
January 12, 2018 at 5:47 pmmine was a big flop.!!!!
littlebins
January 12, 2018 at 7:20 pmTell me what happened or feel free to email me at @getmovingfitness@gmail.com for help!