Explore St. Patrick’s Day science with a St Patrick’s Day Treasure Hunt with this fun Oobleck recipe! Once you learn how to make oobleck, you won’t be able to stop! Not only is homemade oobleck an awesome science project to learn about non-Newtonian fluids (read more about that below), it’s also an incredible sensory play recipe for kids who really love to dig in and explore with their sense of touch. This treasure hunt oobleck activity is sure to be a hit for simple science experiments.
Oobleck is Kitchen Science
You will want to raid cupboards for this classic kitchen science experiment! Making St. Patrick’s Day oobleck is as simple as grabbing two household staples, water and cornstarch, and mixing them up! However, the ratio of water to cornstarch is so important in this oobleck recipe.
What is Oobleck?
Oobleck, goop, or oobleck slime is a non-Newtonian fluid, which we will discuss at the bottom of the page. Although it doesn’t feel like our traditional slime recipe, like this St. Patrick’s Day Green Slime, it has many of the same properties.
These properties or characteristics make it an excellent chemistry experiment exploring states of matter, mixtures, and substances. Let’s look at the supplies and recipe for this St Patrick’s Day treasure hunt activity and then read up on the science afterward!
Click below to get your quick and easy STEM challenges.
St Patrick’s Day Oobleck Recipe
YOU WILL NEED:
- Treasure
- 1 Cup Cornstarch
- 1-1.5 Cups of Water
- Bowl
- Spoon
- Food Coloring (optional)
- Shallow Pan or Pie Dish
We also added a spoon, tweezers, and cookie cutters!
There’s no way around the messy side of this St. Patrick’s Day treasure hunt, so be prepared and embrace the mess while the kids enjoy a cool learning experience. You can contain the mess with disposable table cloths or shower curtains or take it outside if you have nice weather.
I would suggest putting the oobleck in the trash when finished. Although it does wash down the sink, it’s a lot of goop for the pipes to handle.
How to Make Oobleck
Step 1: Start by adding the cornstarch to the bowl.
I always recommend having extra cornstarch on hand for experimenting with ratios or if the kids accidentally add too much water. Oobleck is very forgiving, so you will just end up with a larger amount in the end!
You can easily add food coloring to the water first. Remember for a bold color as you see here, you will need extra food coloring. For an artistic approach to adding color, see our marbled oobleck activity! Or you can add the color after instead!
Step 2: Add the water and get ready to mix. You should start with 1 cup of water first and then add as needed. The good thing about this classic St. Patrick’s Day oobleck recipe is that if you add to much water, you can add more cornstarch.
If you add too much cornstarch, go ahead and add back in some water. I highly suggest making small changes at a time. A little can go a long way once you start incorporating it into the mixture.
You can start by mixing your oobleck in a bowl and then transfer to a more shallow tray to allow for a larger play surface if desired!
The Right Oobleck Consistency
There is a gray area for the right oobleck consistency. First, you don’t want it to be very crumbly, but you also don’t want it to be very soupy either. If you have reluctant kiddo, hand them a spoon to start! Let them warm up to the idea of this squishy substance. Never force them to touch it though.
The perfect consistency is when you can pick up a clump in your hand, form it into a ball of sorts, and then watch it flow like a liquid back into the pan or bowl.
Once you have your oobleck mixed to the desired consistency, you can add your St Patrick’s Day coins and other accessories as desired!
Make a St Patricks Day Treasure Hunt
Once your goop is made, go ahead and toss in treasure for the kids to hunt for! Pick items that are easily washed and dried and turn that into an activity as well. We have also done a St Patrick’s Day treasure hunt with shaving cream.
The Science of Oobleck
Oobleck is a fun substance made from cornstarch and water. It’s also a bit messy!
It is a great example of a mixture! A mixture is a material made up of two or more substances combined together to form a new material and that can be separated again. Do you think the oobleck mixture could be separated into cornflour and water again? How?
Questions: Try leaving a tray of oobleck out for a few days. What happens to the oobleck? Where do you think the water has gone? What happens if you freeze oobleck?
This oobleck activity is also a great way to explore the properties of liquids and solids, know as the states of matter. Here, we combine a liquid and a solid, but the mixture doesn’t become one or the other. A solid has its own shape whereas a liquid will take the shape of the container it is put into. Oobleck is a bit of both!
That’s why oobleck is called a non-Newtonian fluid. This means it is neither a liquid nor a solid but has properties of both! You can pick up a clump of the substance like a solid and then watch it ooze back into the bowl like a liquid. Touch the surface lightly and it will feel firm and solid. If you apply more pressure, your fingers will sink into it like a liquid.
More Fun Oobleck Recipes
Our oobleck recipe is so easy to use over and over again and with so many themes for holidays, seasons, and beyond.
More Fun St. Patrick’s Day Activities For Kids
Also, check out…
- Leprechaun Trap Ideas
- St Patrick’s Day Science Experiments
- St Patrick’s Day Activities For Preschoolers
- Slime You Can Make For St Patrick’s Day
- Free St Patrick’s Day Printables
- St Patrick’s Day LEGO Challenges
- St Patrick’s Day Art Projects
Printable St. Patrick’s Day STEM Pack
Over 100 pages of easy-to-use STEM activities will make your prep and planning time a cinch! Cheap supplies, easy to set up and clean up, and full of hands-on fun!
- 25+ St. Patrick’s Day science activities and STEM projects for kids that are easy to set up and fit into your available time, even if it’s limited!
- Printable leprechaun theme STEM activities that are simple but engaging for home or classroom. Perfect for K-2 and beyond but easily adaptable to many skill levels.
- Includes simple background science explanations to share with kids while they explore hands-on and playful experiments, projects, and activities such as simple physics and chemistry concepts.
- Engaging St. Patrick’s Day STEM activities pack with theme activities, journal pages, and design process steps! Learn about the design process and think like an engineer while you design and build a Leprechaun Trap!
- Easy to gather supplies makes these STEM activities ideal when you have limited resources available. Try the leprechaun launcher or rocket! Solve codes and puzzles, too.
- Additional STEM activities Include the tallest gold coin tower challenge, brick building challenges, math task cards, and screen-free coding activities.
- Bonus fun pack includes games and activities to round out your St. Patrick theme activities, such as I Spy, bingo, matching, Would You Rather cards, board games, word puzzles, and more! Perfect for parties, too!
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