Sylvia makes Crazy Putty

Dadmin — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 20:20:31 +0000

Mini

Ep. Number

Welcome to our second episode of Sylvia’s Super Awesome Mini Maker Show! Hey! Did you know you could have fun making extended polymer chains at home with household chemicals? You bet you can! Today we’re going to make “Crazy putty!”

For this super squishy build we’ll need:

At least 4oz of white school glue (not the washable kind)
A Measuring Cup
Borax (used for cleaning)
2 bowls for mixing
And some food coloring if you want it to look cool.

First, put one cup of water in a bowl, then add in 1 teaspoon of borax (be careful not to get any in your eyes), stirring till it dissolves completely. Keep stirring! Next, take 4 oz of glue and mix it with a half cup of water in the other bowl. If you want super-awesome color putty, add the dye to the glue and water now. When it all looks ready, you can slowly pour the borax solution into the glue, and watch as it thickens up immediately before your eyes.

The glue is what’s called a polymer. Polymers are like a bunch of tiny chains inside the glue that keep from flowing like a regular liquid, and help it stick to things. When you mix in the, borax, it acts like a linker, connecting and extending all the little polymer chains of glue to form a bunch of much longer chains.

All this chain lengthening stiffens the glue and water mix, and makes it much harder to move around. It makes it almost not a liquid anymore, though it will melt if you leave it alone long enough.

Try experiment with changing the glue to borax ratio, freezing it, or letting it melt through stuff. Just make sure to not get it in your hair, clothing or carpets! Have fun and remember, get out there and make something!

See this post on MakeZine.com

Favorite Comments

mts0628Good video. if you don't like the runniness of the putty after you make it, then simply roll it in your hands; the heat from your hands and agitation will dry any excess water present. Also, you can do the same thing with equal parts of liquid starch and white glue. Fun fun fun!
ShadowJay11I think she just proved she has a higher intelligence then most people on youtube!
crafty25936ive watch 2 mini maker shows and they really are super awsome, she is gonna make kipkay lose his job
obeyme3I've never heard a child say "extended polymer chains" before.
EmpowerizationYour videos rock! mini maker show is awesome!
TheSolitaryPoetBest Make video ever!
captwasabi"Chemistry rocks!" Sylvia is my new hero!
mrdoornbosThis is one of my favorite videos on YouTube of all time. Love it!
owenmck100gr8 stuff! Well produced, entertaining v instructive, memorable. I'm impressed! thanks
TheFounderUtopiaThis is kid is so awesome, but I'm not sure I can get past the fact that I'm so intimidated by a child's intellect.
steadfast1984my kids love this segment of Make. dont stop!!!
holmoletaI absolutely love the outro song!
Loki95531The paper clip animation was great! Way to go kid!

Sylvia's Super-Awesome Maker Show! - goo

Two more episodes of the Mini maker show