As part of our study on States of Matter, third and fourth grade students had fun playing with Oobleck in science today. They mixed water with a “secret ingredient” and observed its unusual properties, trying to answer the question, “Is it more like a solid or a liquid?” If they squeezed it, or put any kind of pressure on it, it behaved like a solid, but when the pressure was released, it was more like a liquid.
The secret ingredient turned out to be ordinary cornstarch, but the question remained, “Why does it act like this?” Students have been challenged to try to find out more about this unusual mixture. What is it called? Why does it act like this? They might want to try this at home!
Although we focused on the scientific aspect, the name comes from a Dr. Seuss book called Bartholomew and the Oobleck, in which a sticky liquid falls from the sky because the king is bored with normal weather. We, of course, would love to see some “normal” snow fall from the sky!