Flubber

Flubber - a putty type substance made from a combination of glue, water, borax and if you'd like, food coloring.

[Note:There is also a movie from the 90s with Robin Williams named Flubber. It didn't appear to get good reviews in my google search. I have never seen the movie. I only know bout the putty type substance.]

At THINK we made flubber. It really is a lot of fun to play with. It is super simple to make. And it's a cool science experiment for the kiddos. Having said that, it is important to note that flubber should not come into contact with fabric of any sort. It sticks to it and does not come off. We play with our flubber at a table that has a plastic table cover on it and we try really hard :-) not to let any drop on the floor.

So after making flubber, it has been a fun activity throughout the week molding it into different shapes, popping air bubbles that come up or squeezing it into a cup and hearing the "toot" noises it makes. After, dance the other day, we came home and the girls were playing with flubber at the table while I was making lunch. I was almost finished when I heard a very calm "I have some goo in my hair". Ok, I thought.  Then Punkin says "oh you do have some in there". Nothing alarming, I thought.

Then I turned around.

There was a glob of flubber in the front of Buttons hair that stretched about 6-7 inches down and about 2 inches thick - a huge glob of pink flubber hung from the front of her head. Not the "I have some" amount that I was expecting. I took a deep breath, put my hands on my knees and took a moment. My first thoughts honestly, were this is made of glue and we are going to have to cut her hair - and she has a recital in a week. I know, very dance mom of me. Sorry. After my moment of silence and breathing, I evaluated the flubber to hair issue. I let her know that I was going to try my best to get it all out, that it may hurt, and that if I couldn't get it out we would try to wash it out. But that there was a chance mommy would have to cut it out. It really was a lot in there. To my surprise, it came out pretty easily. Much easier than I first thought. I really thought she was gonna have to have bangs to try to get it out.  But, piece my piece, strand by strand, the flubber came out, without too much pulling and no scissors needed.

I'm still not sure why the flubber got put on her hair. I asked, but nothing was really offered. I was thinking when I was getting the flubber out that I remember getting gum in my hair as a child - falling asleep with it in my mouth - and having to freeze it to get it out or cut it out. And I'm sure that happened more than once. But I don't recall ever deliberately putting something like that in my hair.

Lesson(s) learned - 1) flubber is fun. 2)flubber does not come out of fabric 3) flubber does come out of hair.

I have included the recipe for flubber below. May you have a funny something kind of time with your own flubber. :-).  If you add a small amount of cornstarch you can roll it into a ball that as it hardens becomes a bouncy ball. Feel free to search for he specific recipe for that one. We preferred the flubber of the two.

1 1/2 cups warm water
2 cups elmer white glue
food coloring
1 1/3 cups warm water
3 teaspoons borax
Directions:

1) In one container mix 1 1/2 cups warm water, white glue and a few drops of food coloring.
2)In a second container mix 1 1/3 cups of warm water and Borax.
3)Mix the Borax mixture into the glue mixture until combined. (may be some liquid in bottom of container).
4)Place Flubber on a tray and let stand for a few minutes before playing with it!
5)Store in air tight container.