# Goop on Pinecones
> Kids color cups of runny cornstarch goop (oobleck) and pour it slowly over pine cones in a baking pan. The colors run off into a marbled rainbow river at the base.
- URL: https://www.funlittles.com/goop-on-pinecones/
- Ages: 2–6 yrs · Difficulty: easy · Mess: high
- Time: prep 15 min, activity 30 min
- Works for: one-on-one, small group, whole class · one batch serves about 2 kids
- Skills: sensory-exploration, controlled-pouring, fine-motor, colors, color-mixing
- Cautions: corn, food-dye, ingestion-risk

## Materials (one batch)
- Cornstarch (household)
- Water (household)
- Food colors
- 5 piece Pine cones
- 1 piece Baking pan (household)
- 10 piece Small cups (household)
- Spoons (household)
- Shaving cream (optional) (household)
- Glitter (optional)
- Cookie cutters (e.g. star, tree) (optional) (household)

## Safety
- Supervise closely, especially with toddlers. Goop and food color are not food, so keep them away from mouths.
- Shaving cream is not taste-safe. Keep it out of mouths and eyes, and wash hands after play.
- Food color can stain hands, clothes and surfaces. Cover the table and dress for mess.
- Check the pine cones for sharp scales, sap or bugs before play.
- General caution: scrape leftover goop into the trash rather than down the sink, because cornstarch can clog drains.

## Steps
1. Set up a baking pan with a few pine cones that have a good flat base.
2. Mix water into cornstarch a little at a time until it is like runny honey. Make enough white goop for about 10 small cups.
3. Pour the white goop into small cups and set the food colors next to them.
4. Add food color to your cup and stir it in.
5. Pour the goop slowly down a pine cone and watch it flow.
6. Keep pouring new colors, slowly, not dumping.
7. Look at the color river forming at the base of the cones.
8. Optional: mix shaving cream with yellow food color and add 'snow' to the tops of the pine cone mountains.
9. Lift the pine cones out and look at the marbled goop left behind.

## Tips
- You say '10!?' Believe me, the cups go by fast. The kids squeal in delight to see the oobleck flow down the pine cone and want more, fast!
- Involve the kids in the prep as much as you can tolerate. The goop has only 2 ingredients, and kids can help make it and pour it into the smaller cups.
- In our home the kids immediately wanted to add food colors to the white goop themselves.
- With a toddler, expect lots of prompts for 'slow pouring' instead of dumping. Controlled pouring and colors were great exercises for my younger one.
- The goop won't stay on the cones, but the color river it forms at the base is a feast for the eyes.
- Shaving cream, goop and food color together was ultra fun.
- Left overnight, the leftover goop dried enough to make tiny blocks. They were so brittle they broke as soon as you handled them.

## The original post by TurkeyMom (2012)

Goop on pine cones We are doing our oobleck fountain once again only this time we have more colors and more pinecones! If you are new to goop (also known as oobleck) it is simply corn starch and water.

- Oobleck/Goop
- Pine Cones
- Food Colors
- Baking Pan and cups

First I made the goop. Mix water to cornstarch until you reach a honey-like consistency.Make a white batch large enough to make 10 small cups (pictured). You say “10!? Believe me, they go by fast since the kids will squeal in delight to see the oobleck flow down the pine cone and would want more –FAST! and colorful. I set up my baking pan with a few pine cones that has a good flat base.

 Pour the oobleck into small cups with food color next to them.

 Now: I usually love and recommend that you involve your kids as much as possible( and tolerate) in the prepping process. The kids can help making the goop since it has only 2 ingredients and they can even help pour the goop into the smaller cups. In our home when the kids came over they immediately wanted to add food colors to the white goop. Here we are mixing the colors to the cup and pouring in down the cones.. Usually my kids are very “hands into” stuff but today they wanted to pour the goop from their cups – new experiences. Pouring the goop using their hands would add to the fun element.  

  Requests for more goop and more colors came by really fast! The goop of course won’t stay on the cones but the color river it formed at the base was a feast to the eyes.   With my toddler, there were numerous prompts for “slow pouring” as opposed to dumping. We worked on controlled pouring and of course colors.Those were great exercises for my younger one. With time, shaving cream mixed with yellow came into picture . Older one wanted some snow on the pine cone “mountains” not trees but mountains.  Shaving cream, goop and food color – This one was ultra fun. Thanks to [Buzzin for her original post.](https://www.funlittles.com/oobleck-fountain/) Once we removed the pine cones, what was left was this beautiful marbleized oobleck starting to dry. Left overnight, the goop was dry enough to be made into tiny blocks. They were so brittle and they did break as soon as you handle them. 

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