What is Borax and how to make slime

At the STEAM Café in Paignton, I am looking for some ideas for some science workshops / demonstrations.

One idea is to make slime, for this we need a household chemical called Borax. Or Sodium tetraborate decahydrate. This along side PVA (Poly Vinyl Acetate) and water should produce a long chain molecule that resembles a slime type material.

PVA is safe and easy to use, as it is a glue. However, Borax is not that safe. So it is essential to understand the hazards and take appropriate steps.

So first things first. I have printed off the MSDS for Borax but also looked up information on the PubChem website. There is also a video explaining what Borax is on Youtube..

I have also looked up how to make various concentrations of this 1M,0.5M and 0.25M in 100ml volume (this is the only volumetric flask I have anyway).

This is not strictly needed, but useful to calculate anyway.

So back to making slime. I found a recipe at Little Bins. Little Hands so will be using that, as it gives me the quantities to use, but also explains the science.

I will post an update once I have had a go.

Tags

#Science,#Polymers.#Slime.#Borax,#PVA.#Chemistry

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