DIY Silly Putty
Cold weather is upon us and the kids can easily get restless. Silly Putty can make for great indoor entertainment and it can be even more fun when you make it with the kids. Save this recipe for a rainy day and it’ll entertain your children for hours.
Silly Putty is a bit of a science experiment in and of itself. This is due to its silicone polymers that allow it to break and flow like a liquid when given a sharp blow.
It was first created during World War II. During that time, Japan invaded rubber producing companies causing rubber products to become rationed across the United States. To answer the call, American inventors started working on a substitute based on the reaction of boric acid and silicone oil that would result in a gooey, bouncy material. However, it was found that the substance did not have all the properties needed to replace rubber.
Although Silly Putty was not a successful rubber replacement, it was later found by a toy maker who decided to market the product. It took some time, but eventually it became a success with children everywhere.
And not only that, Silly Putty has been known to have more practical purposes as well. It can be used to remove dirt, lint, pet hair and ink from various surfaces. It has also been used in physical therapy to relive hand injuries, can be used to remove stress and has been employed by military modelers as a masking tool for complex paint schemes.
Silly Putty is great because it’s easy to make and you can do a few different things with it. Pull out last week’s newspaper and make impressions from the comics or articles, have a sculpture-making contest, or just bounce it around. Use the recipe below to make your own personalized silly putty and look forward to making your rainy afternoon with the kids a lot of fun.
How to make Silly Putty:
Ingredients:
2 parts Elmer's Glue
1 Part Liquid Starch
Optional: Food Coloring. Make your silly putty any color you want.
Directions:
1. Pour starch and a few drops of food coloring slowly over the glue and mix. Add more food coloring for desired color. If it is too sticky you can add more starch.
2. Cover and refrigerate overnight. It may need to dry out a bit before you can use it.
Store in an air tight container or plastic bag.
To make impressions: Once it’s ready to use, just take a piece about the size of a golf ball and roll it into a ball. Find your favorite comic or newspaper that you want to copy. It needs to be a non-shiny print so the picture or print can transfer to the silly putty.
Press the ball on to the section you want copied. Press firmly enough so the ink transfers on to your silly putty. Slowly pull up the silly putty, starting at the top. Turn it over to find your copied masterpiece in your hand!
The image featured at the top of this post is ©iStock.com/hkeita.