Chocolate Oobleck Dinosaur Dig

Have you ever heard of Oobleck before? How do you even pronounce Oobleck? When I first heard of this slime-like substance called Oobleck, I immediately wanted to try it. My kids love slime, but mommy does not love the mess. 

If you are a mom with kids who love slime, you HAVE TO try making Oobleck! It is so much easier to clean up than slime. Since Oobleck consists of just cornstarch and water, you can just rinse it right off. No more tears and frustration over slime on carpet, furniture, clothes, and hair (yes I experienced all of that)!

Chocolate Oobleck Dinosaur Rescue

And for moms with toddlers, Oobleck is also edible! Not that you want to eat it, I doubt it will taste great. But you don’t need to worry if some get into your little one’s mouth. Safe sensory play is the best!

For dinosaur summer camp (use BETTY123 to get $7 off), we are making chocolate Oobleck! The color might be a little scary for you, but the kids love it. We are going back in time to rescue the dinosaurs who are trapped in thick mud. Let’s go!

How to Rescue Dinosaurs from Oobleck Mud

Materials:

Directions:

  1. Pour the cornstarch and cocoa powder in a container.
    Chocolate Oobleck Cornstarch and Cocoa
  2. Slowly add the water, stirring as you go. Depending on how thick you want your Oobleck to be, you may not use the entire cup of water.
    Chocolate Oobleck Mixing in Water
  3. Add dinosaur toys to the Oobleck. They will start to sink.
    Chocolate Oobleck Dinosaur Dig
  4. Have your child save the dinosaurs!

I underestimated how much my children would love the Oobleck. They simply loved playing with it and kept digging their hands in and letting the Oobleck drip from their hands. 

Chocolate Oobleck Dripping Dinosaur

The cocoa powder is for color only, but it certainly makes the Oobleck smell delicious! If you don’t have any at home, you can just leave it out or use food coloring.

As for the dinosaurs? Sorry, my prehistoric friends, the kids forgot about rescuing you and preferred to bury you deeper in the Oobleck instead. Maybe this is how dinosaurs went extinct – they just could not escape the non-Newtonian fluid.

Jokes aside, here are some things to have your kids try with the Oobleck to really blow their minds:

  • Punch the Oobleck with their fists (no, seriously). How did the Oobleck behave? Did any Oobleck get on your kids’ hands?
  • Slowly sink their hands into the Oobleck. How did the Oobleck behave differently than when they punched it?
  • Try to have the make a ball with the Oobleck by rolling it in their hands. Did they succeed?
  • Grab a handful of Oobleck and open your palm. What happens?
Chocolate Oobleck Dripping

Your kids will probably spill some Oobleck out of the container. Mine certainly did. At first, I freaked out, thinking it’s going to be like cleaning up sticky slime. However, just a quick wipe with a wet paper towel cleaned the mess up. 

As for the Oobleck in the container, all you have to do is add some more water in the container and you should be able to pour it down the drain. Just make sure you have the water running from the faucet as well so you don’t clog your drain with the thick cornstarch-and-water mixture.

Science Behind Chocolate Oobleck

Like I mentioned a couple of times above, Oobleck is a non-Newtonian fluid. The cornstarch-and-water mixture creates a fluid that acts like a liquid when at rest and like a solid when put under pressure. 

A good example of a non-Newtonian fluid is ketchup. When ketchup is sitting in the bottle, it behaves like a soft solid. That’s why it takes a certain amount of force to get the ketchup out of the bottle. The best way to get the ketchup flowing is to shake it. With the applied force, the ketchup changes viscosity and acts more like a liquid and now you can pour it out of the bottle. 

I bet you will remember what non-Newtonian fluid is next time your kid is throwing a tantrum because you couldn’t get ketchup out of the bottle fast enough for him to dip his fries!

Anyhow, back to the Oobleck. The Oobleck mixture acts more like quicksand than ketchup. When you apply force to it (like punching it), it becomes thicker. The cornstarch particles move closer together, so it’s like punching a soft wall. On the other hand, if you dip your hand slowly into the Oobleck, the particles move apart and the Oobleck behaves more like water.

Interesting fact: Do you know where the name Oobleck comes from? It’s actually from Dr. Seuss’s book, Bartholomew and the Oobleck

Final Thoughts on the Mud Oobleck Dinosaur Dig

If you have a slime-lover at home, I truly recommend trying the Oobleck. And if you have a toddler at home, Oobleck is so amazing for sensory play. Even I, as an adult, loved running my hands through the Oobleck and experimenting with how the Oobleck reacts when I do different things to it.

The poor dinosaurs got the opposite of a rescue. The kids had so much fun trying to submerge them in the Oobleck. So I guess as a dinosaur dig activity, it failed. But as a fun science experiment, the Oobleck dinosaur dig triumphed!

And like I mentioned, clean up is easy! And you can rest assured that your kids can play with it as long as they want since there are no harmful chemicals in the Oobleck. Just cornstarch and water!

Check out other fun dinosaur activities here:

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