We have been spending a lot of time this winter with Wren’s creative pursuits: coloring, drawing, painting and equal time “fixing” puzzles, but I thought it would be fun to delve into an easy science experiment as we while away these dark winter days in a meaningful way. And I’m not talking about the accidental science experiments in my kitchen like the cranberry Jello from Thanksgiving (!) that I cleaned out yesterday. Who knew that it could even go bad? Yikes. Ahem. No, we’re talking intentional science here, lovelies.

Enter Gak!

I saw Gak mentioned on several other blogs recently and thought we’d try our hand at making some too. Making Gak is a simple experiment in the creation of a polymer. This is a great one to do with little ones (and big ones alike) because it only take a few minutes to make and provides endless fun. In fact, we got it out again today and it was even more fun than when we made it the other day.

All you need is a bottle of Elmer’s glue, liquid starch and if you like, some food coloring. There are other recipes that involve Borax, but we opted for the liquid starch.

Simply pour an 8 oz bottle of Elmer’s glue into a bowl.

If you want to color your Gak, drop a tiny bit of food coloring into the glue. This was a fun part because it reiterated some color mixing that we’ve been working on with our paints. I am a proud Mama of a two year old that knows red and blue make purple!

Then pour 8 oz (1/2 cup) of liquid starch into the glue, a bit at a time, stirring as you go. A real lesson in patience and pouring skills! Pour a bit, stir a bit, pour a bit, stir a bit… My overzealous little birdie poured too much in at the end, but it worked out fine anyway. It will begin to come together right away – some crazy stuff! You can also knead it with your fingers and this is fun for the little ones too. I wasn’t sure what Wren would think of it, but she thought it was yucky and wonderful at the same time. Now that’s my kind of girl!