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bouncing polymer balls; these are awesome!!!
Topic Started: Jun 6 2010, 05:36 PM (291 Views)
Devdev
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In this craft you will be making little bouncy balls. you are making a polymer solution first. that means that you are combining different ingredients that are going to bind together to make a bouncy ball. clear as mud? OK, so here are the ingredients:

Ingredients

•borax (found in the laundry section of the store)
•cornstarch (found in the baking section of the store)
•white glue (e.g., Elmer's glue - makes an opaque ball) or blue or clear school glue (makes a translucent ball)
•warm water
•food coloring (optional)
•measuring spoons
•spoon or craft stick to stir the mixture
•2 small plastic cups or other containers for mixing
•marking pen
•watch with a second hand
•metric ruler
•zip-lock plastic baggie

Once you have gathered all of that, you start:

1.Label one cup 'Borax Solution' and the other cup 'Ball Mixture'.

2.Pour 2 tablespoons warm water and 1/2 teaspoon borax powder into the cup labeled 'Borax Solution'. Stir the mixture to dissolve the borax. Add food coloring, if desired.

3.Pour 1 tablespoon of glue into the cup labeled 'Ball Mixture'. Add 1/2 teaspoon of the borax solution you just made and 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. Do not stir. Allow the ingredients to interact on their own for 10-15 seconds and then stir them together to fully mix. Once the mixture becomes impossible to stir, take it out of the cup and start molding the ball with your hands.

4.The ball will start out sticky and messy, but will solidify as you knead it.

5.Once the ball is less sticky, go ahead and bounce it!

6.You can store your plastic ball in a sealed ziploc bag when you are finished playing with it.

7.Don't eat the materials used to make the ball or the ball itself. Wash your work area, utensils, and hands when you have completed this activity.

now if you experiment with it a little you can do different things such as:

•Observations you can make and then compare as you change the composition of the ball include the diameter of the finished ball, how sticky it is, how long it takes to solidify into a ball, and how high it bounces.

•Experiment with the ratio between the amounts of glue, cornstarch, and borax. Adding more cornstarch will make a ball that stretches and bends. Using less borax will produce a 'goopier' type of ball. Add more glue for a slimier ball.
 
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