Then I spotted a two ingredient silly putty recipe, and was so excited to see it just used corn starch and dish soap, which we always have on hand.

Rubber was vital for the production of rafts, tires, vehicle and aircraft parts, gas masks, and boots. This homemade silly putty recipe is not one that you save to play with again, as it does begin to dry out after an hour or so. Stretch your imagination with Silly Putty-the crazy compound that bounces, molds, stretches, snaps and more! One of the easiest ways to make a substitute for rubber is to mix together household items that form a putty.

Since then, there have been a host of other apocryphal uses including: to secure tools and relieve stress at zero gravity on the Apollo 8 mission in 1968; for the rehabilitation of hand injuries by physical therapists; and to mimic the plasticity of plate tectonics in geological models of the earth’s crust. Credit for the invention of Silly Putty is disputed [12] and has been attributed variously to Earl Warrick [3] of the then newly formed Dow Corning; Harvey Chin; and James Wright, a Scottish-born inventor working for General Electric in New Haven, Connecticut. Whether you prefer the nostalgia of the old school original Silly Putty egg or our updated offerings, such as the glow-in-the-dark or glitter formulas, we’ve got an egg fit for everyone! When I was young, I remember spending hours squishing, molding, and stretching it (which helps develop fine motor skills in little fingers, by the way!

Throughout his life, Warrick insisted that he and his colleague, Rob Roy McGregor, received the patent for Silly Putty before Wright did; [14] but Crayola's history of Silly Putty states that Wright first invented it in 1943. Viscoelasticity is a type of non-Newtonian flow, characterizing a material that acts as a viscous liquid over a long time period but as an elastic solid over a short time period. It’s been a lot of fun seeing my son gain that same excitement for science, which will hopefully give him the same confidence to experiment in the kitchen as it did for me. At that point, we added a bit more cornstarch until it was just pliable enough to not stick to the fingers, but not so much that it dried out. This fluorescent orange silicone-based polymer is a runny yet bouncy putty that you may have experienced as a child.

From healthy recipes, to cute food ideas, we've got just what a busy mom needs to make meal time fun! If you slam it with a hammer, it keeps it shape, yet if you push with light, even pressure, it will flatten with ease. Silly Putty will dissolve when in contact with an alcohol; after the alcohol evaporates, the material will not exhibit its original properties. These creative sensory activities make for some really fun learning after reading the Zoo Vet eBook with your class!