# Silky Soft Goop > Mix cornstarch with liquid starch to make a free-flowing, silky smooth goop that oozes through fingers. Unlike regular oobleck, it doesn't turn solid when pressed, which makes it a great prompt for describing words and science questions. - URL: https://www.funlittles.com/sensory-activities-for-kids-silky-soft-goop-recipe/ - Ages: 2–6 yrs · Difficulty: easy · Mess: high - Time: prep 10 min, activity 30 min - Works for: one-on-one, small group, whole class · one batch serves about 2 kids - Skills: sensory-exploration, language, vocabulary, science, critical-thinking - Cautions: corn, food-dye, ingestion-risk ## Materials (one batch) - 2 cup Cornstarch (cornflour) - 8 oz Liquid starch - 1 piece Large shallow tub or sensory bin (household) - Unsweetened Kool-Aid drink mix (optional) - Gel food colors (optional) - Liquid watercolors (optional) ## Substitutions - Instead of liquid starch: Water (Makes regular oobleck, which turns solid when you press it and flows like a liquid when you let go. It won't have this silky texture.) ## Safety - Not taste-safe: liquid starch is a laundry product that contains soap and other substances. Keep the goop out of mouths and eyes, and supervise closely, especially with toddlers. - Wash hands well after play. - Kool-Aid, food color and liquid watercolors can stain hands and clothes. Use smocks or old clothes. - Scrape leftover goop into the trash rather than the sink. Cornstarch mixtures can clog drains. ## Before you start - Make sure you have enough liquid starch: plan on a bit more than 8 oz for 2 cups of cornstarch. - Cover the table and set out the tub, with smocks if you plan to add color. ## Steps 1. Pour 2 cups of cornstarch into a large tub. 2. Add about 2 oz of liquid starch for every 1/2 cup of cornstarch, so about 8 oz for 2 cups. 3. Mix with your hands, adding a little more liquid starch until the goop is free-flowing and silky soft. 4. Pick up the goop by the handful and let it flow back into the tub. 5. Keep squishing. It starts a teeny bit sticky and gets softer and smoother the more you play. 6. Try pressing it and rolling it. Does it turn solid or make a ball? Talk about what you feel. 7. When you want color, add a little unsweetened Kool-Aid, gel food color or liquid watercolor and swirl it in. 8. Wash your hands. An adult scrapes the leftover goop into the trash. ## Tips - Play with it plain white first. With all the white you can see how smooth and fluffy the actual goop is. I was surprised the kids waited that long for color! - The texture is squishy, but it won't mold into a ball or anything. It is very free flowing. - It really brings out the vocabulary. My kids called it 'fur goop', 'cloud goop', 'glue goop' and 'super soft goop'. Ask kids to find their own names for it. - Use it for science talk. My 5 year old asked why it doesn't turn solid when pressed. Regular cornstarch and water oobleck does, but this goop uses liquid starch instead of water, so it doesn't have that property. - Involve the kids in experimenting with the materials. Many of our sensory activities become science experiments that way. ## The original post by TurkeyMom (2020) ### *2 ingredient silky smooth goop recipe!* We usually do all of our [**sensory activities**](https://www.funlittles.com/category/messy-play-2/) on a whim. I almost always involve my children when we are experimenting with a few materials and they love that part the best. By that process many of our **sensory activities for kid**s become [**science experiments**](https://www.funlittles.com/category/science-2/) as well. ### So what is this silky smooth goop recipe? It is only the smoothest, softest goop that has enthralled my kids to no bounds that they christened it" fur goop", "cloud goop", "glue goop", "super soft goop" . Just a few names they used to express the fantastic smooth texture they were experiencing with this awesome goop. Doesn't this [**sensory activity**](https://www.funlittles.com/category/sensory-bins/) look so fun? It sure was. The goop oozed and flowed freely. They picked it up by the handful and let it flow back into the tub... The goop started off a teeny bit sticky. But the more they played with it the softer, smoother and less sticky it became. The texture was squishy although they don't mold into a ball or anything.. It is very free flowing. The kids finally requested color ( I was surprised that they waited that long for color!) But it turned out great since with all the white you can see how smooth and fluffy the actual goop is. We added a bit of Kool-Aid (unsweetened drink mix) to it. But you could add any color ( we love the **[Wilton Gel Food Colors](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004167NFO/?tag=blmemo-20)** and the **[Sax Liquid Watercolors](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0042SR5R2/?tag=blmemo-20))** ### Sensory Activities for language skills and critical/scientific thinking I can't say enough about engaging in sensory activities with the kids! It really brings out the vocabulary in them. My kids used so many words to describe the texture. My 5 year old asked quite a few science based questions in terms of the ingredients ( why doesn't it turn into solid when I press it" - you will understand the meaning of this question when you see the materials used ) Materials Needed( links to products used provided below) **[Liquid Starch](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AK6J0TQ/?tag=blmemo-20)** **[Cornstarch](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0045DMLXM/?tag=blmemo-20)** Process For very 1/2 cup of cornstarch (cornflour) add 2 ounces of liquid starch and go from there. For our activity I had about 2 cups of cornstarch(cornflour) and a bit more than 8 ounces of liquid starch. Keep mixing the liquid starch to the cornstarch until you get a free-flowing silky soft goop. Please Note : this will NOT be a non-Newtonian substance meaning it will not behave like regular oobleck. Regular cornstarch+water mixture will behave like a solid when applied pressure (pressing it) but will behave like a liquid when let loose. This silky smooth goop does not have that property since we are using liquid starch instead of water but the texture is to die for! Liquid starch in itself is a mixture of cornstarch, oil, soap and other substances.. Combining these two materials has resulted in a goop with an amazing texture. Thanks for reading More [**sensory activities for kids**](https://www.funlittles.com/category/messy-play-2/) can be found on our category page Check out our [**sudsy goop recipe**](https://www.funlittles.com/sensory-activities-with-sudsy-goop/) Our super fun [**color changing goop**](https://www.funlittles.com/sensory-activities-color-changing-goop-science/) [**Rainbow Goop**](https://www.funlittles.com/quick-play-idea-with-colorful-oobleck/) here Here is a gorgeous edible [**glow in the dark goop**](http://www.funathomewithkids.com/2013/08/edible-glowing-oobleck.html) from Fun at home with kids A **frozen watermelon goop** from Learn Play Imagine A [**dancing Goop**](http://www.housingaforest.com/dancing-oobleck/) from Housing A Forest