Eli Whitney Museum

Slime is still happening, and never really went out of style. Slime was inspired by Silly Putty, another long polymer compound discovered in New Haven 81 years ago. 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. A new kind of play was born.

Join a week of disciplined experiments, careful observations and gooey play. We have counted nearly 100 recipes and applications for slime. All of them begin with simple, safe materials. Make classic slime, crunchy slime, glitter slime, magnetic slime....to mention a few. Extrude slime, inflate slime, stamp slime, and walk on slime. The creative variation is mind-boggling. Keeping a journal with measurements and observations will organize your experiments. Test out new challenges every day ending the week with a giant “ slime bubblefest.” There will be disappointments to be sure. 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.