Rainbow slime is amazing! This beautiful colored, shimmery rainbow slime is perfect any time of the year. 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 recipe is perfect for every kid!

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Make Slime With A Rainbow Theme

My son loves to help measure and mix the slime ingredients but prefers to wait for the less messy end product. Our rainbow slime, once made, is not sticky or messy!

The mixing is, that’s my job. We played with the slime colors individually and talked about colors mixing. He could not wait to mix the rainbow slime together!

We were able to stretch out the rainbow slime colors and place them next to each other to build a rainbow. At this point, the slime colors could easily be separated. Once the real hands on play started, the colors really started to mix in beautiful ways. 

Basic Slime Recipes

Our easy, “how to make” slime recipes show you how to master slime in 5 minutes or less! We have spent years tinkering with our favorite basic slime recipes to make sure you can make the BEST slime every time!

We believe slime shouldn’t be disappointing or frustrating! That’s why we want to take the guesswork out of making slime!

  • Discover the best slime ingredients and get the right slime supplies the first time!
  • Make easy slime recipes that really work!
  • Achieve awesome slimy consistency the kids’ love!

Which Slime Recipe To Use?

We have several basic slime recipes that can all be used for this colorful rainbow slime recipe. You decide which one works best for you depending on what slime activator you want to use. This allows for some flexibility depending on where you live in the world! Not everyone has access to the same ingredients!

Each of the basic slime recipes below have the full step by step photos, directions, and even videos to help you along the way!

Here we use our Liquid Starch Slime recipe. All you need to make this colored slime with beautiful rainbow colors is clear glue, water, and liquid starch.

If you can’t get your hands on clear glue, try white PVA glue! Though your rainbow slime might be a bit more on the pastel side depending on how much food coloring you use.

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

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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 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 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?

Did you know that slime aligns with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)?

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

Get Your FREE Printable Slime Recipe Cards!

Rainbow Slime Recipe

Also check out our recipe for fluffy rainbow slime with saline solution!

Ingredients (Per Color):

  •  1/2 Cup of Washable PVA Clear Glue
  • 1/4 Cup of Liquid Starch
  • 1/2 Cup of Water
  • 2 bowls and a spoon for each batch {or wash as you go}
  • Food coloring

How To Make Rainbow Slime:

STEP 1:  In a bowl mix 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup of glue (mix well to combine completely).

STEP 2: Now’s the time to add food coloring! See our tips below on how to make the rainbow colors. Remember when you add color to white glue, the color will be lighter. Use clear glue for jewel toned colors!

Mix the color into the glue and water mixture.

STEP 3: Pour in 1/4 cup of liquid starch. You will see the slime immediately start to form. Keep stirring until you have a gooey blob of slime. The liquid should be gone!

STEP 4:  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! 

REPEAT FOR EACH COLOR OF THE RAINBOW!

SLIME MAKING TIP:   We always recommend kneading your slime well after mixing. Kneading the slime really helps to improve it’s consistency. The trick with liquid starch slime is to put a few drops of the liquid starch 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 liquid starch reduces the stickiness, and it will eventually create a stiffer slime.

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How To Make Your Rainbow Colors

I used 4-6 drops of food coloring per batch. The red and green colored slime required the largest amount of food coloring.

What Two Colors Make Orange:  To make the secondary colors I mixed three drops of yellow and two of red to make orange.

What Two Colors Make Purple:  Purple was three red and two blue drops.

Green was it’s own color but needed 5-6 drops. You can play around with the colors as you like. Our red was on the lighter side, but he wanted it that way! I love how clear glue makes this rainbow slime shimmer and shine.

Beautiful, translucent slime colors for a shimmery, bright colorful rainbow slime!

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How To 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.

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 rainbow slime with shaving cream! Make sure to go back and read the slime science above too!

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Rainbow Glitter Slime

More Fun Rainbow Ideas

More Fun Slime Recipes To Try

If your kids love playing with slime, why not try more favorite slime ideas…

Grab the Ultimate Slime Recipe Bundle

All the best homemade slime recipes in one place with plenty of fantastic extras!

What’s Included:

  • The Ultimate Slime Guide contains all the specialty recipes you or your kids want to make! You’ll find all the best tips, tricks, hints, and slime-y info in almost 100 pages!
  • The Ultimate Slime Holiday Guide covers all the best holidays and seasons with special themes and slime-y projects!
  • The Ultimate Borax-FREE and Taste-Safe Slime Guide shows you how to make all the best borax-free, taste-safe, and non-toxic slimes kids love, such as marshmallow slime. These recipes do not use chemical activators such as saline solution, liquid starch, or borax powder, making them truly borax-free.
  • The Ultimate Slime Coloring Book is an easy-to-print coloring book kids will love! Color and design your favorite slimes!
  • The Slime Starter Guide is a fact-filled information guide with everything you need to know to make the best slime ever!
  • Slime Science Project Pack helps you turn slime-making into a science lesson!

18 Comments

  1. I am not sure what that is but if it’s in the laundry section and does contain borax solution.

  2. Great ideas but there were so many ads that made it too slooooooooooow! I almost gave up!

  3. I use the McCormick food coloring from the spices section of the grocery store. Nothing fancy!

  4. I will check with my ad network. Thanks for the heads up. I don’t have complete control of what ads show up when and where. Please keep in mind that the ads are how I make a living and care for my family.

  5. We have not found it to stain but we play with it on plates. If you use an excessive amount of food coloring hands can get stained for a little bit but it washes out. It could potentially stain rugs, furniture, or clothing I suppose though we have not experienced these issues.

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