FAMILY FUN
How to Make
Hot Chocolate Slime
Your kids will love
this gooey and
delicious-smelling DIY
BY LINDSAY PONTA
I t’s only January, but it’s been cold long enough
that you might be running out of ways to
keep the kids busy indoors. Fortunately, I
have a solution: hot chocolate slime!
Slime can be tons of fun for a wide range of
ages. For toddlers, it’s a sensory activity. Put it
in a muffin pan with a few tiny toys and your lit-
tle one will have a blast stretching, squeezing
and transferring the goo from one compartment
to another. Or dump it onto a plate and let them
stamp shapes into it and then watch as the
impressions disappear.
Slime also makes a fantastic STEM activity for
older children. It’s chemistry in action! A non-
Newtonian fluid, slime responds like a solid when
squeezed but acts like a liquid when released. If you
want to really dig into the science behind slime
with your kids, ACS.org has a great resource on
its website.
This recipe makes enough hot chocolate slime
for two to four kids, but it can be easily doubled for
a larger group. As the slime sits, the foam beads
will float up to the top slowly, so it looks just like
a mug of hot chocolate with marshmallows! You
can expect to get at least a few weeks of play from
your slime if you store it in an airtight container.
Almost all the supplies for this slime recipe can
be found at your local grocery and craft stores or
online. While it’s safe to play with, please remind
your kids that Borax is a soap and shouldn’t be
consumed. If you’re making a batch with toddlers,
you may want to skip the yummy chocolate fra-
grance oil so they aren’t tempted to eat the slime.
Bonus: Slime makes an adorable gift or party
favor when packaged in nonbreakable container
with a bright bow. T
12 Washington FAMILY JANUARY 2020
SUPPLIES: White school glue
Warm water
Borax Brown gel food coloring
White craft foam beads
Plastic jar or container
Optional: chocolate fragrance
oil (available online)
INSTRUCTIONS: 1. Use a fork to mix together
½ cup white glue and ½ cup of
water in a bowl.
2. Add enough brown gel food
coloring to achieve the look of
hot chocolate and about 10 drops
of chocolate fragrance oil. Stir
until the color is evenly mixed.
3. Dissolve Borax into ½ cup of
warm water in another bowl.
4. Pour half the Borax solution
over the glue mixture and stir
with the fork. It should start to
stick together and clump up
a bit.
5. Continue adding the Borax
solution a little at a time, stirring
constantly, until it all sticks
together in one big blob.
6. Use your hands to knead the
slime until it’s smooth and no
longer sticky. You may need to
add a bit more Borax solution
to get rid of stickiness. I like to
dip my fingers into the Borax
solution and then knead them
into the slime.
7. Pour some foam balls onto the
finished slime, kneading them in
with your hands.
8. Separate the slime into plastic
jars or another type of airtight
container for storage.
THIS RECIPE CAN BE
ADJUSTED IN SO MANY
WAYS TO CREATE DIFFERENT
SLIME CONCOCTIONS. HERE
ARE A FEW IDEAS
TO STRETCH OUT THE
FUN ALL WINTER LONG:
Use an extra ¼ teaspoon of
Borax for a more putty-like
consistency. Use different colors to explore
color mixing.
Add glitter for some fun
sparkle. Mix in pom poms or water
beads for different textures.
Add a generous dollop
of shaving cream for
fluffy slime.
Use clear glue for a
transparent version.
Please share pictures of
your hot chocolate slime on
social media with the hashtag
#washingtonfamilymag so we
can see your creativity. Happy
crafting, friends! T
Lindsay Ponta created the DIY
and lifestyle website Shrim
p Salad Circus in 2009 to inspire
busy women to live perfectly-
imperfect creative lives. Find
easy DIYs and recipes at
shrimpsaladcircus.com.
AT A GLANCE
A WALK IN JANE GOODALL’S SHOES
“Becoming Jane” Now Open
at the National Geographic Museum
on what artifacts to display but also
on which stories to tell. For example,
she was particularly passionate
• My Life with the Chimpanzees
about including a video on animal
by Jane Goodall
intelligence featuring Pigcasso the
• Me...Jane
Painting Pig, a South African rescue
by Patrick McDonnell
pig with a knack for landscapes.
• I am Jane Goodall
The kid-friendly exhibit also
by Brad Meltzer
includes a replica of Goodall’s
research tent, where visitors can
• Who is Jane Goodall?
explore her supplies and jot down
by Roberta Edwards
their own observations in a field
• The Watcher
journal. They can take a virtual
by Jeanette Winter
reality expedition to Tanzania’s
Gombe Stream National Park, learn
Jubilee the plush animal is just
programming at the National
how to pant-hoot like a chimp in an
one of many artifacts from
Geographic Society. “Through
interactive augmented reality (AR)
Goodall’s childhood on display
immersive media, authentic scenic
activity and watch a hologram-like
at a new National Geographic
and interactions, this exhibition
projection of Goodall take a trip
Museum exhibition, “Becoming
takes visitors into the field and
Jane: The Evolution of Jane Goodall.” down memory lane.
around the world with Jane, walking
At the end of the exhibition,
When she returned to her family
in her shoes and experiencing her
visitors can pledge to help Goodall
home to retrieve Jubilee for the
powerful message of hope firsthand.”
in her mission to ensure a more
exhibit, Goodall also brought back
“Becoming Jane” is open at the
sustainable future by choosing to
the Tarzan and Doctor Doolittle
National Geographic Museum
books that, as a young girl, inspired use less plastic, avoid palm oil or
(1145 17th St. NW, Washington, DC
take a nature walk. Each pledge
her to want to work with wild
20036) through the summer of 2020.
appears as a leaf on an interactive
animals as well as a handmade doll
Tickets cost $15 for adults; $12 for
Tree of Hope.
she received from her mother.
seniors, students and military; and
“This exhibition allows us to
$10 for children ages 5-12. For more
experience [Goodall’s] amazing
A partnership between the
information, visit natgeoevents.org
life story in a highly personal
National Geographic Society
or janegoodall.org. T
and powerful way,” says Kathryn
and the Jane Goodall Institute,
“Becoming Jane” is an interactive Keane, vice president of public
— PJ FEINSTEIN
multimedia exhibition that takes
visitors on a journey through
the life of the celebrated animal
behavior expert, conservationist
and activist. Goodall is best
known for her behavioral
research on chimpanzees and her
then-unorthodox approach to field
research: She immersed herself in
their habit in what is now Gombe,
Tanzania. When it opened at the end of
November, visitors were surprised
by how such an immersive
experience could still feel so
personal. That’s because Goodall
herself was involved in the project
Children can explore artifacts on display at “Becoming Jane: The Evolution of
scope, sharing her thoughts not only
Jane Goodall,” organized by National Geographic and the Jane Goodall Institute.
Twenty-five years before Dr. Jane
Goodall traveled from England
to Africa to study chimpanzees,
a chimp at the London Zoo gave
birth to a baby. Born the same year
as King George’s Silver Jubilee,
celebrating the 25th anniversary of
his reign, the baby chimpanzee was
named Jubilee. Plush chimpanzees
were produced to commemorate the
birth of Jubilee, and Goodall’s father
brought one home for his 1-year-old
daughter. PHOTO BY REBECCA HALE/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
INTRODUCE YOUR KIDS
TO DR. JANE GOODALL
AND HER INSPIRING
WORK BY READING
THESE RECOMMENDED
CHILDREN’S BOOKS
BEFORE YOU GO.
WashingtonFAMILY.com 13