Whether it's making their own, playing with pre-made slime or watching videos of the stuff on YouTube, many kids are obsessed with slime. And who can blame them? It's stretchy, sticky and a bit gross, all of which kids love. It's also very tactile, making it a great choice for sensory play.
And it's not just a fun toy: slime can be a great science demonstration, too. As well as learning about the chemistry behind the recipe and investigating this material's strange properties, kids can also practise following the recipe and carefully measuring out ingredients – both useful scientific skills.
We've picked our favourite slime kits for kids who want to make slime from scratch.
Borax and slime safety
A report by consumer group Which? in 2018 found that some pre-made slimes on sale contained levels of boron that exceeded EU safety standards.In high levels, exposure to boron can cause skin irritation, diarrhoea and vomiting.
This boron comes from the mineral borax, which is often added to glue to form bridges between long chains of glue molecules, creating the stretchy, slimy texture. Some slime kits use alternatives to borax, such as Elmer's Glue Magic Liquid, whereas others keep the borax in low concentrations.
Look out for the CE mark on slime kits before you buy. This symbol ensures that the products conform to EU safety standards. Make sure young children are supervised when they're making slime.
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Best slime kits to buy in 2024
Elmer’s Glue Slime Starter Kit
This Slime Starter Kit from Elmer's Glue is a great introduction to making your own slime. It comes with two bottles of clear PVA glue, four tubes of glitter glue in different colours, and two bottles of Elmer's Glue Magical Liquid – an alternative slime activator that doesn't contain borax.
The ingredients are pre-measured, so all you need to do is combine one bottle of glue with your preferred colour of glitter, and then gradually add a bottle of Magical Liquid, mix, and knead until the slime forms.
Cra-Z-Slimy Creations Slimy Fun Kit
This slime kit from Cra-Z-Slimy contains everything you need to make a variety of slimes. Inside the box, you'll find two bottles of glue – one white and one clear – and a bottle of slime activator. It also comes with equipment: a measuring cup, two pots with lids, three slime sticks, two mixing bowls, a spoon, and full instructions for creating the slime of your choice.
You'll also get a bag of glitter and three pots of colouring, so you can choose to make your slime glittery, neon or mix-and-match.
This kit contains borax.
Galt Toys Slimy Lab
If you're looking for a slime kit to get your kid experimenting and teach them some science, the Galt Toys Slimy Lab may be the one for you. It comes with a 12-page lab book explaining four different experiments to carry out, including space to write down what you've learned.
In the kit, you'll find ingredients to make metallic, glow-in-the-dark and colour-changing slimes, and mixing pots and sticks. There are also moulds to make your very own slimy creatures, and googly eyes to bring them to life.
So Slime DIY Slimelicious Station
For a simpler way of making slime, consider the So Slime DIY Slimelicious Station. This kit doesn't require glue and an activator – just add water to the slime powder and shake.
The Slimelicious Station is set up with dispensers for the powder and water, as well as scented colourants. The kit comes with three scents – vanilla, strawberry and bubblegum – which can be combined with four different stir-in decorations to make eight different slimes.
It also comes with tools for making the slime, and stickers for decoration.
Elmer’s Colour-changing Slime Kit
This slime kit, also from Elmer's Glue, allows you to make two different colour-changing slimes. Leave the yellow slime in sunlight and watch as it turns red; blue slime will turn a shade of purple.
You can use the colour-changing element to create patterns in the slime. For example, by blocking a portion of the sunlight that hits the slime, or by using a small LED to draw, or write on it.
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