Chemistry FAIL...or Maybe Not?

I bought Borax.
It's a mix of Sodium and Boron which can be found in the laundry aisle of most stores.
I knew it was used in some science experiments.
I thought we could use it to make things explode.
I was wrong.
Borax is one of the LEAST flammable materials known to man. Doh!

So,  I asked, "If it won't explode...what WILL it do?"
My boys would not be interested in its cleaning properties, so I searched and discovered that Borax WILL make a very awesome, very gooey, very snot-like slime. *click on highlighted words or links*
(The boys had all kinds of fun "sneezing it" in to their hands.)

Yes, the original Borax purchase was made in the Fall (as can be seen by the MUCH SHORTER haircuts. I miss those haircuts.) The boys had spent the summer blowing things up with firecrackers (and other firework concoctions)...and they were craving more explosions.


Oh well, the slime ended up satisfisfying a different testosterone-filled craving. (All things that are gross.)











Once the holidays were behind us, new year "cleaning out" kicked in for this mama - and I happened across a BIG box of Borax which had barely a tablespoon taken out of it to make slime. (If you need some Borax, don't buy any...we have PLENTY to give away.)
Never wanting to waste anything, I began to wonder...what ELSE can we do with this stuff?

To the Internet I went...and stumbled across a few good ideas.

We still have the Christmas boxes sitting in the basement within easy reach...and it's still winter...so let's make some crystal snowflakes for our tree next year!

Doesn't Evan looked THRILLED?

No project can be completed without a little distraction.
(or in this case,  a little man that Micah made)

Snowflake ornaments are not gross or explosive, but the boys soon realized that crystallization is still pretty stinkin' cool. Pattern and structure out of apparent chaos. (sounds like our homeschool sometimes)
I love how God's mind works. I love studying the way He made things.

The crystals will "whiten up" as they dry.

Can't forget the "Don't eat  yellow snow" jokes.

Well, you may think Borax has played itself out....But WAIT, there's MORE!
(Yes, that was my attempt to sound like a cheesy infomercial.)

We found a "recipe" for Bouncy Polymer Balls. Woo hoo!
It required corn starch (which we used up doing a mythbusters experiment), so I had to make a trip to the store. Evan was so excited about making the balls that he pestered me for two days.

We tried two different ball mixtures found on the internet.
Either our expectations were much too high, or we weren't very good at measuring ingredients; because we did indeed make rubbery balls- but they only kinda, sorta bounced. Welcome to Chemistry boys - the result does not always match the hypothesis.

Can you SEE the disappointment in Micah's face?

The disgust lasted mere moments. Soon, the boys were pitching the balls to each other...in the middle of my living room. The poor snowman on the kitchen bar never saw it coming. One minute he was peering out over the couch, and in the blink of an eye, he got a face-full of casserole dish in the kitchen sink. (That was about the time the game ended.)

Well, I have a feeling there are more concoctions on the horizon. When Micah realized I bought corn starch, his first comment was, "Corn starch is FLAMMABLE, isn't it?"

God protect my boys as they learn about Your world. Amen.