Museum of Science, Boston

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Slime Chemistry: Infants






  

    

  Slime Chemistry can be a fun science activity for people of all ages. We provide these generalizations as guidelines about what children at different ages might do during Slime Chemistry explorations at the Discovery Center’s Experiment Station, in the kitchen at home, or at school.  Listed below are science and technology process skills that children may be practicing during their explorations. Please remember: each child develops at a different rate, so some children in each age group may be able to do some of the things described in the age group before or after their own.



How might infants explore Slime Chemistry?



  

      


  

    
Explore




Slime is a safe substance for children of all ages to explore, once the ingredients have been thoroughly mixed together. 


Infants who are still in the stage of oral exploration should only play with slime under the close supervision of an adult, because swallowing large amounts of slime can cause problems similar to those caused by swallowing chewing gum.  
  





  

    
Observe




Playing with slime is a great sensory activity. 


Many infants enjoy touching slime, squeezing it in their hands and watching others stretch, bounce and roll their slime. 


Talk to your infant about how the slime feels as they play with it.  


As they play, use lots of descriptive words for how it feels, looks and smells- this will help them develop their emerging vocabulary.
  





  

    
Use Tools




Some older infants are learning to hold utensils and may enjoy holding tools that older children use to cut and shape their slime. Younger infants often explore these tools with their mouths, so be careful to ensure that the tools they explore orally do not have slime stuck to them.