How To Make Slime With Borax

Our super simple slime with borax is one of our most versatile slime recipes! Lately, we have been testing some very cool slime themes with it, and I am so excited to share with you how awesome this borax slime recipe really is! The key to this slime is in the borax slime activator and the ratio of borax powder to water. The best slime recipes are always a delight for kids to make!

Make Slime With Borax

Kids love to play with oozing slime in their favorite slime colors! Slime making is even more fun when you add in foam beads, confetti, or soft clay. We have quite a few borax slime ideas to share, and we are always adding more.

Learn how to make this easy slime recipe with borax powder as the slime activator. It’s much simpler than you might think!

This borax slime recipe is one of our favorite sensory play recipes! We make it ALL the time because it is so quick and easy to whip up. Make good slime with just three simple ingredients {one is water}. Add color, glitter, sequins, and then you are done!

Oh, and slime is science too, so don’t miss the great information on the science behind this easy slime below. Watch our awesome slime videos and see how easy it is to make the best slime!

Wondering if slime made with borax powder is safe? Check out this post for our thoughts on the safety of borax for making slime!

Helpful Slime Making Resources To Get Your Started

These are the best resources to look through before, during, and after making your awesome fruit scented slime! We talk more about slime science below too.

Slime Science

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 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 of long, repeating, and identical strands or molecules. These molecules with flow past one another and keep the glue liquid. 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 a 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 slime aligns with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)?

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

Where Can I Buy Borax Slime Activator?

We pick up our borax powder in the grocery store! You can also find it on Amazon, Walmart, and at Target.

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

NOTE: We have found that Elmer’s specialty glues tend to be a bit stickier than Elmer’s regular clear or white glue, and so for this type of glue we always prefer our 2 ingredients basic glitter slime recipe.

Free Printable Borax Slime Recipe Sheet

Borax Slime Recipe

Here’s a quick and easy recipe for slime made with borax powder.

Supplies:

1/4 tsp of Borax Powder
1/2 cup of Elmer’s Washable School Glue in Clear or White
1 cup of water divided in half
Food Coloring, Glitter, Confetti, Foam Beads, Soft Clay (optional)

How To Make Borax Slime

STEP 1: Mix 1/2 cup of glue and 1/2 cup of water in a bowl.

STEP 2: Add food coloring, glitter, and other fun mix-ins

STEP 3: In a separate small bowl, mix 1/2 cup of warm water with 1/4 tsp of borax powder. This makes your liquid borax activator.

STEP 4: Pour the slime activator into the bowl with the glue and water mixture.

STEP 5: Mix vigorously until all the liquid is incorporated and slime is in a ball in the bottom of the bowl. You can go ahead and knead and play with your slime.

Fun Variations Of Borax Slime

All of the slime recipes below were made using borax powder as a slime activator. Check out these easy ideas for fun mix-ins to add to your borax slime.

Add-ins for Borax Slime:

2 0z of soft clay (mix in after the slime is made)
1 cup of foam beads
food coloring
glitter
confetti
scented oils

CLEAR GLUE SLIME

If you want your slime to look like liquid glass, you need to let it sit untouched and lightly covered for a few days.

FLOWER SLIME

Add a small handful of confetti and chunky glitter to your clear glue borax slime. Be careful not to add too much as it won’t allow the slime to stretch well.

CLAY SLIME OR BUTTER SLIME

Soft clay is a really neat mix-in we have recently been experimenting with, and it pairs really nice to our slime recipe with borax too. All you need is an ounce or two of soft clay to add to your slime recipe.

CRUNCHY SLIME

There are 2 fun ways to make this awesome crunchy slime, either with mini foam beads. Or you can make it thicker and more moldable like floam with one simple change.

FIDGET PUTTY

Want to make your own thinking putty or fidget slime as we like to call it? Then you definitely need this slime recipe with borax! This putty is thick and squishy and perfect for fingers to mash and knead.

Bouncy Ball Slime

This slime recipe with borax will make bouncy balls! It’s all about the science behind the slime too. Did you know that slime bounces?

How To Store Borax 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.

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!