We love slime here at Fun Science, and we are so pleased with how popular is has become recently! Why not try something a little different and make slime that moves using the power of magnetic force, with your very own magnetic slime!

You will need:

• PVA glue
• Laundry starch (available from online retailers)
• Paint (the colour is up to you!)
• Iron filings
• A magnet
• Spoon
• Cup or bowl
• Jug

Method:

• Put 1 tablespoon of PVA glue into your cup/bowl.
• Add a squirt of paint to achieve your desired colour and stir.
• Add 1 tablespoon of iron filings and stir them in.
• Mix up a laundry starch solution in a jug or similar- 4 heaped teaspoons per 500ml water.
• Add 2 teaspoons of laundry starch solution and stir it in slowly.
• Add the laundry starch solution 1 tsp at a time until the glue has come together into a putty that you can hold in your hands.
• Mould the slime in your hands, adding another tsp of laundry starch solution if it is too sticky.
• When your slime is ready, get a magnet and hold it close to your slime, your slime should start to move!

The Science Bit:

PVA glue is made of lots of polymer chains (a bit like wiggly fingers!) that grab onto cracks and bumps on things, which is why glue sticks. The laundry starch makes the polymer chains link together, so they can’t grab onto anything as they are ‘stuck’ to themselves. The iron filings contain lots of magnetic charges, which is what makes it magnetic, so they are attracted to the magnet, taking the slime with them!