Creative Chemistry

Eli Whitney Museum

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The Art and Science of Slime

Creative Chemistry

 

2019 Summer Program

This is Slime's golden age. But it is not new. Slime is a grandchild of Silly Putty, another long ploymer compound discovered in New Haven exactly 75 years ago in a failed experiment. The chemist James Wright was looking for a substitute for rubber because World War II had disrupted the supply. Wright concocted a gooey mess. Disappointed, he threw a glob of it on the floor. It bounced back at him And a new kind of play was born.

Slime returns for a second summer of disciplined experiment, careful observations and gooey play. We have added new recipes and applications. Make classic slime, crunchy slime, glitter slime, magnetic slime…to mention a few. Extrude slime, inflate slime, stamp slime, and walk on it. The creative variation is mind boggling. Keeping a journal with measurements and observations will organize your experiments. There will be disappointments. Remember James Wright: success is bouncing back from failure. By the end of the week you will have added to slime art and culture and you will recognize the properties of Non-Newtonian fluids. And of course, partner in making a Slime Video.


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