This glittery goo was so very easy to make and can be whipped together using only 3 ingredients. Often called ‘oobleck’, this sparkly oozy recipe is great fun for children to play with independently or as a group.
This type of activity is wonderful for children of all ages to engage in and great for their sensory development. The oozy goo feels interesting between the fingers and the addition of the glitter makes it quite irresistible for those who are a little reluctant to get involved and get a bit messy.
Recommended Age: 2.5 years +
(Active adult supervision is required on all my activities)
Glittery Goo
You will need
- 2 cups cornflour or cornstarch
- 1 cup water
- Jelly crystals 85g (used for colouring the goo)
- Glitter
Add the cornflour to a large bowl with the coloured jelly crystals (see above). Slowly begin adding splashes of water and mix until you reach your desired consistency. I used whole cup of water for my recipe. The mixture will be very difficult to mix but will seemingly ‘melt’ as it relaxes. Add in a good amount of glitter and you’re done!
N.B Cornflour and cornstarch can behave differently so add water slowly so your mixture doesn’t become too waterlogged.
The mixture should be quite stiff to stir but also have a oozy liquid texture.
Once I was happy with the mixture I transfered it to a wide container with tall sides. Possum (aged 2.5 years) couldn’t wait to get her spoon into the mixture and begin exploring.
This is one of the best goo recipes you’ll find, but of course there are many others, which you can find on my Pinterest board. The coloured goo looks so awesome when you hold a large chunk up high and watch it ooze back down to the container it came from. It’s wonderful stuff!!!!
Possum had SOOOO much fun with this. She loved looking at the glittery flecks and sinking her fingers in this amazing goo.
I’m always reluctant to call any activity as ‘messy play’, as I understand that for parents it can be a little off putting, however, I was able to easily overcome any mess by dressing Possum in an apron, adding a towel underneath the table and chair and added a piece of large paper under the tray that had the glittery goo. Of course this activity can be done outside, but indoors works well when you have your space prepared.
So is it a solid or liquid????
As I explained above, the mixture will be very difficult to mix with a spoon as it seems to contract and become very stiff as you try and move it. If you look at the image above you will see how the mixture when quickly picked up will appear almost crumbly and dry, however……
…if you then give it a moment to be still it will seemingly ‘melt’ between your fingers and ooze into a gooey texture. How awesome is that! If you’d like to know more of the science behind it, click here.
The blue jelly crystals we used made our goo a wonderful colour, but you can use whatever colour jelly (or food colouring) you want! I chose to use the jelly crystals as it doesn’t seem to stain hands like food colouring can.
Children love messy play and they can never get too much of it. The learning, smiles and giggles that come from such an experience make it absolutely worth the effort involved in whipping the 3 ingredients together for their enjoyment. I hope you get to give this glittery goo recipe a try with your children.
Would your children enjoy playing with glittery goo?
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Hi there – I love this idea as a developmental activity for my 5 year olds – just wondering would this keep like play dough or need to be made fresh each time?
Oh Margaret, this was so much fun and I know your 5 year olds would love it too. To be honest, I’d probably make a fresh batch each time. In my experience I did find that after a few hours the exposure to air caused it to dry out and make it harder to play with. Hope that helps you. Feel free to subscribe to my blog. 😉
Hi thanks for so lovely idea i will try it soon.
So much fun Ghazala! 🙂
What a great sensory experience!
Does jelly coloring mean powdered jello. I wanted to use this in my classroom and I like the idea of the color not rubbing off on their hands.
Oooey, gooey, squishy, glittery fun! What more could you want? Awesome idea, thanks.
oooh so much fun!
Does the jelly make it sticky at all?? I bet it makes it smell delicious!
Where do I buy jelly crystals? Can I use gelatin? Thank you for sharing you awesome ideas!
Hi Mary!
Thank you so much for your comment. I’m in Australia and can buy jelly crystals from the supermarket. I’m not too sure where you are located but it might be called Jell-O? I’m sure you could try gelatine but it’s more the coloured sugar crystals that give it its colour. Let me know how you get on Mary. 🙂
This is a great project we do a science fair I might do this project if the teacher let me because it is going to be a little messy.This is my first time being on this website this website is great and I hope you know,but you spelled coloring wrong.
Thank you very kindly for your comments Deborah. Glad you like what you see.
I’m in Australia and so we spell colour with the ‘U’.
I LOVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVE THISSSSSSSSSSSSSSS WEBSITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTE
Do you know if I could use knox geleton?
I’m sure you could. It might not be the same consistency but still be lots of fun experimenting.
Ilove all of ur ideas im so gratefull i found these i love doing these hands on projects with my lil ones my kids have there friends over alot so i am constantly looking for new things to make with them were always baking cookies and cupcakes so thank u again i look foward to making alot of ur projects we will start today with the fairy dough
How wonderful. Thank you Tiffany for your gorgeous feedback. It has made my day. Feel free to subscribe so you don’t miss any of my ideas.