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Homemade Bouncy Balls are a great boredom buster and craft for kids! These DIY bouncy balls made with glue, cornstarch, and Borax can also serve as a simple science experiment too!
Homemade Bouncy Balls
Adult supervision is required for this activity because of the Borax. Borax is found in the cleaning and detergent aisle because it is a popular household cleaner. It’s also great for making slimes and super bouncy balls!
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Ingredients:
- Borax
- Water
- White glue – Glitter glue will work as well if you’re looking to add a little extra flare.
- Cornstarch
- Food color
Supplies:
- 2 small mixing bowls
- Spoons to stir
- Rubber gloves if you have sensitive skin
Instructions:
Mix together the water and borax in a medium-sized bowl. It’s ok if a little of the borax remains at the bottom of the bowl, but make sure it’s mixed as well as possible.
In a separate small bowl mix together the cornstarch, glue, and a few drops of food coloring. You’ll want to make sure these ingredients are mixed really well for the best results.
Pour the liquid glue mixture to the water mixture and stir until the mixture reaches a smooth, homogenous, gooey consistency. This should only take about 10 seconds.
Once it’s gooey, use your hands or the back of a spoon to squish it around a bit until it starts to firm slightly. It’s ok that it isn’t a ball at this point!
Take the gooey glue mix out of the borax mixture and roll the mixture in your hands until round and hardened. The longer you roll the ball in your hands the harder it will get. If you set the ball down it will flatten a little, if this happens just start rolling it again and it will shape up.
Mixing or Swirling Colors
Here are some fun ways to play with color when making homemade bouncy balls:
Blend. Mix two colors together to make a new one before adding it to the mix.
Swirl (method 1). Don’t add the food coloring until everything else has been mixed together. Then add two (or three!) different colors and mix very lightly so as not to combine them all the way. Roll the mixture into a ball/balls just as you normally would.
Swirl (method 2). Make two batches of bouncy ball mix and color each a different color. Take a little bit of each and roll them together into 1 ball to make a swirl pattern.
It’s not necessary to wear gloves for this craft but it’s not a bad idea either. That being said, I do recommend washing your hands thoroughly upon completion, especially if you are sensitive to borax (or don’t want to find out the hard way). Also, some of the food dyes may turn your skin colors for a short time depending on the type and brand of food color.
Variations
Looking to sparkle things up a bit? Feel free to use glitter glue instead of white glue. You could also add a couple of drops of glow-in-the-dark acrylic paint to the glue mixture. Glow in the dark bouncy balls? Yes, please! Make them for your kiddo’s next sleepover.
More Craft Projects for Kids
Homemade Bouncy Balls
Homemade Bouncy Balls
Supplies
- 2 small mixing bowls
- spoons to stir
- rubber gloves for sensitive skin
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon borax
- ½ cup water
- 2 tablespoons white glue
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- Liquid food coloring
Instructions
- Mix together the water and borax in a medium-sized bowl. It's ok if a little of the borax remains at the bottom of the bowl, but make sure it's mixed as well as possible.
- In a separate small bowl mix together the cornstarch, glue, and food coloring. You’ll want to make sure these ingredients are mixed really well for the best results.
- Add the glue mixture to the water mixture and stir until the mixture reaches a smooth, homogenous, gooey consistency. This should only take about 10 seconds.
- Once it's gooey, use your hands or the back of a spoon to squish it around a bit until it starts to firm slightly. It's ok that it isn’t a ball at this point!
- Take the gooey glue mix out of the borax mixture and roll the mixture in your hands until round and hardened.
- You can make 1 big bouncy ball or several small ones by breaking bits off before it has hardened. The longer you roll the ball in your hands the harder it will get. If you set the ball down it will flatten a little, if this happens just start rolling it again and it will shape up.
