How To Make Oobleck

What do you get when you combine science, sensory and an escape room style challenge into one big project? You get this insanely fun How to Make Oobleck Break Out Box Challenge for the classroom or home! Solve the puzzles to reveal your secret ingredient and unlock the box. Then use your ingredient to make a batch of Oobleck. Students will wrap up the challenge by determining their favourite Oobleck recipe by comparing their results with other secret ingredient recipes!

How To Make Oobleck Learning Center Break Out Box Challenge

What you will discover in this article!

Break Out Box Challenge How to Make Oobleck For Classrooms

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BREAK OUT BOXES FOR LEARNING CENTERS

Have you heard of something called a Breakout Box? Breakout Boxes are a wonderful mix of STEM learning, gaming, and problem-solving, all wrapped up like an educational escape room. It makes learning fun, collaborative and best of all, gives classrooms a fun new take on Learning Centers that will have your students begging to learn more!

With this How to Make Oobleck Break Out Box Challenge we are combining Science, Early Coding/Math literacy, and Critical Thinking Skills into one fun activity.

Did you know there are many different ingredients you can use to make Oobleck or non-Newtonian Fluid? With this challenge students will decode a secret ingredient that is hidden inside their box. Then using that ingredient they will make a batch of Oobleck. Finally, students will compare the different recipes to see how the different secret ingredients affected the properties of the Oobleck.

This is a great classroom challenge as it includes 6 different secret ingredients, which means 6 different break out boxes. Perfect for group work.

SUPPLIES

For this challenge you will need:

How to Make Oobleck Break Out Box Challenge Cards and decoder
How to Make Oobleck Break Out Box Worksheet
6 lock boxes. You can also use a chain around a box.
6 locks with keys that fit the lock box. Or you can grab letter locks so the students need to enter a word to unlock the lock. The word can be the solution to their secret ingredient code word.
6 jars or containers that hold 2 cups and fits in your lock box
Pens or pencils
2 cups Cornstarch
2 cups Baby Powder. Ensure it is cornstarch based, not talc.
2 cups Arrowroot Starch. Also sometimes called Arrowroot Flour.
2 cups Tapioca Flour. Also sometimes called Tapioca Starch.
2 cups Potato Starch
5 cups of Water
6 Large Mixing Bowls
6 mixing Spoons

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Bonus! We have included Scientific Method Posters for your learning centers or classroom. You can purchase your copy through either our STEAM Powered Family Store or Teachers Paying Teachers.

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Grab supplies here:

DIRECTIONS

Start by preparing your Break Out Boxes. Each box will contain a secret ingredient! Lock the boxes and put away the keys if you used them.

Set up your boxes and place the correct Challenge Card that matches your secret ingredient inside each box. Don’t forget the worksheet so they can record their progress.

In an easily cleanable area, set out the bowls with water so they can make their Oobleck.

Invite the kids to take on the How to Make Oobleck Break Out Box Challenge and decode the secret ingredient. Once they get the solution, give them the key (or code) to unlock the box and release the secret ingredient.

Then using that ingredient, combine it with water in a large bowl and mix to make Oobleck.

NOTE: Cornstarch, Baby Powder and Potato Starch will use the full cup of water to make Oobleck. But Arrowroot Starch and Tapioca flour will only require about ½ cup of water. Adjust the amount of water as desired until you have the non-Newtonian Fluid traits in your mix.

Ask students to compare the different Oobleck mixtures and record their findings on the worksheet. You may find it easiest to use different coloured bowls, or add a bit of food coloring to each Oobleck so you can tell them apart.

Which is their favourite? How does the secret ingredient change the properties of the Oobleck?

Keys to success!

Oobleck is a non-Newtonian Fluid. It becomes solid under pressure and liquefies as pressure is removed. Encourage kids to explore these properties as they play with the Oobleck. Just remember, Oobleck can get messy. So work in an easy to clean space. The easiest way to clean up Oobleck is to let it dry out and sweep it up. Do not place Oobleck down the drain.

Learn more about Oobleck (non-Newtonian Fluid) and all of these different Oobleck recipes here.

Learn more about Break Out Box Learning Centers here.

Have a blast breaking out and learning about Oobleck!

BREAKING NEWS – Check out some of the latest Scientific Discoveries on Oobleck.

How To Make Oobleck – Break Out Boxes Challenge