Easy to Make Rainbow Glitter Slime

Bursting with color, this gorgeous sparkling rainbow slime hits the nail on the head for a must-try slime making activity. Rainbows are magical and well, we think slime is too! Everyone needs to try making homemade slime at least once, and this is it! Our easy to make rainbow slime is perfect for every kid!

EASY TO MAKE RAINBOW SLIME FOR KIDS!

MAKE A RAINBOW

Rainbows are beautiful in every season, so let’s make our own rainbow out of homemade slime! These vivid and bright colors are so much fun to play with too. Now let’s learn how to make rainbow slime!

OUR BASIC SLIME RECIPE

All of our holiday, seasonal, and everyday theme slimes use one of our four basic slime recipes that are super easy to make! We make slime all the time, and these 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.

WHICH SLIME RECIPE IS THE BEST?

Here we used our SALINE SOLUTION SLIME recipe. All you need to make this rainbow slime is clear glue, water, baking soda, and saline solution.

Now if you don’t want to use a saline solution, you can absolutely test out one of our other basic recipes using liquid starch or borax powder. We have tested all three recipes with equal success!

HOST A SLIME MAKING PARTY AT HOME OR SCHOOL!

I always thought slime was too difficult to make, but then I tried it! Now we are hooked on it. Grab some liquid starch and glue and get started! We have even made it with a small group of kids for a slime party! This is also a great slime recipe to use in the classroom!

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!

—>>> FREE SLIME RECIPE CARDS

RAINBOW SLIME RECIPE

Based on the fun mix-ins you choose, you can make your own version of rainbow slime. Soft clay, sand, foam beads, metallic sheets, etc. will lend to a unique rainbow theme slime.

Also, try these rainbow variations:

RAINBOW SLIME SUPPLIES (PER COLOR):

You can find some glitter at dollar stores and you can use food coloring from the grocery store, but you will have to mix your secondary colors.

1/2 cup Clear Washable PVA School Glue
1 tablespoon Saline Solution
1/4-1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 cup Water
Food Coloring
Glitter

HOW TO MAKE RAINBOW SLIME:

STEP 1: First, you want to add glue, water, food coloring, and glitter to your bowl and mix well to combine all the ingredients!

Be generous with the glitter but a little bit of food coloring goes a long way with clear glue. If you have to use white glue but want rich colors, you will need a lot more food coloring!

STEP 2: Mix in 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!

BAKING SODA SLIME TIP: Clear glue slime usually doesn’t need quite as much baking soda as white glue slime!

STEP 3: Add and mix in saline solution.

The saline solution is the slime activator and helps the slime to get its rubbery texture! Be careful, adding too much saline solution can make for a slime that’s too stiff and not stretchy! Read more on this below!

You really have to give this slime a fast stir to activate the mixture. But the slime will form fast enough and you will notice the thickness change as you stir it. You will also notice the volume of your mixture changes as you whip it up.

This slime comes together quickly and it is so much fun to play with too. Repeat the steps for each color of the rainbow!

HOW DO YOU TURN THE SLIME INTO A RAINBOW?

To make your rainbow out of the slime, stretch out the slime into long snakes and place next to each other. The slime will ooze into the colors beside it. Carefully pick up the rainbow and watch it slowly meld together into a slimy swirl of rainbow colors as is shown up above.

Note: Eventually the colors will mix and you will no longer have separate rainbow colors. However, we did find that it had a galaxy or space-like theme to it. Go ahead and add some confetti stars!

HOW DO YOU STORE SLIME?

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 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.

THE SCIENCE BEHIND SLIME

What’s the 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 form 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 flow past one another keeping the glue in a liquid state. Until…

SLIME IS A NON-NEWTONIAN FLUID

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 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! Experiment with making the slime more or less viscous with varying amounts of foam beads. Can you change the density?

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!

Did you know we also have fun with science activities too? We also love to experiment with all kinds of simple to set up science experiments and STEM activities.

SLIME FOR BEGINNERS!

HOW DO I FIX MY SLIME?

HOW TO GET SLIME OUT OF CLOTHES!

SAFE SLIME MAKING TIPS!

SLIME SCIENCE KIDS CAN UNDERSTAND!

WATCH OUR AMAZING SLIME VIDEOS

READER QUESTIONS ANSWERED!

BEST INGREDIENTS FOR MAKING SLIME!

FREE PRINTABLE SLIME LABELS!

THE AMAZING BENEFITS THAT COME OUT OF SLIME MAKING WITH KIDS!

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!