St Patrick's Day Oobleck Treasure Hunt - Little Bins for Little Hands

Explore St. Patrick’s Day science with a St Patrick’s Day Treasure Hunt with this fun Oobleck recipe! Once you learn how to make oobleck, you won’t be able to stop! Not only is homemade oobleck an awesome science project to learn about non-Newtonian fluids (read more about that below), it’s also an incredible sensory play recipe for kids who really love to dig in and explore with their sense of touch. This treasure hunt oobleck activity is sure to be a hit for simple science experiments.

St Patrick’s Day Treasure Hunt Activity For Easy Science!

OOBLECK IS KITCHEN SCIENCE

You will want to raid your kitchen cupboards for this one! Making St. Patrick’s Day oobleck is as simple as grabbing two household staples, water and cornstarch and mixing them up! However, it’s the ratio of water to cornstarch that is so important in this oobleck recipe.

WHAT IS OOBLECK?

Oobleck, goop, or oobleck slime is a non-Newtonian fluid which we will discuss down at the bottom of the page. Although it doesn’t feel like our traditional slime recipe like this St. Patrick’s Day Green Slime, it has many of the same properties.

These properties or characteristics make it a great chemistry experiment that also explores states of matter, mixtures, and substances. Let’s take a look at the supplies and recipe for this St Patrick’s Day treasure hunt activity and then read up on the science after!

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ST PATRICK’S DAY OOBLECK

YOU WILL NEED:

Treasure
1 Cup Cornstarch
1-1.5 Cups of Water
Bowl
Spoon
Food Coloring (optional)
Shallow Pan or Pie Dish

We also added a spoon, tweezers, and cookie cutters!

There’s no way around the messy side of this St. Patrick’s Day treasure hunt, so be prepared and embrace the mess while the kids enjoy a cool learning experience. You can contain the mess with disposable table cloths or shower curtains or take it outside if you have nice weather.

I would suggest putting the oobleck in the trash when finished. Although it does wash down the sink, it’s a lot of goop for the pipes to handle.

HOW TO MAKE OOBLECK:

Step 1: Start by adding the cornstarch to the bowl.

I always recommend having extra cornstarch on hand for experimentation with ratios or if the kids accidentally add too much water. Oobleck is very forgiving! You will just end up with a larger amount in the end!

You can easily add food coloring to the water first. Remember for a bold color as you see here, you will need extra food coloring. For an artistic approach to adding color, see our marbled oobleck activity! Or you can add the color after instead!

Step 2: Add the water and get ready to mix. You should start with 1 cup of water first and then add as needed. The good thing about this classic St. Patrick’s Day oobleck recipe is that if you add to much water, you can add more cornstarch.

If you add too much cornstarch, go ahead and add back in some water. I highly suggest making small changes at a time. A little can go a long way once you start incorporating it into the mixture.

You can start by mixing your oobleck in a bowl and then transfer to a more shallow tray to allow for a larger play surface if desired!

THE RIGHT OOBLECK CONSISTENCY

There is a gray area for the right oobleck consistency. First, you don’t want it to be very crumbly, but you also don’t want it to be very soupy either. If you have reluctant kiddo, hand them a spoon to start! Let them warm up to the idea of this squishy substance. Never force them to touch it though.

The perfect consistency is when you can pick up a clump in your hand, form it into a ball of sorts, and then watch it flow like a liquid back into the pan or bowl.

Once you have your oobleck mixed to the desired consistency, you can add your St Patrick’s Day coins and other accessories as desired!

ST PATRICK’S DAY TREASURE HUNT

Once your goop is made, go ahead and toss in treasure for the kids to hunt for! Pick items that are easily washed and dried and turn that into an activity as well. We have also done a St Patrick’s Day treasure hunt with shaving cream.

THE SCIENCE OF OOBLECK

Oobleck is a fun substance to play with which is made from cornstarch and water. It’s a bit messy too!

It is a great example of a mixture! A mixture is a material made up of two or more substances combined together to form a new material and that can be separated again. Do you think the oobleck mixture could be separated into cornflour and water again? How?

Try leaving a tray of oobleck out for a few days. What happens to the oobleck? Where do you think the water has gone?

This oobleck activity is also a great way to explore the properties of liquids and solids, know as the states of matter. Here we are combining a liquid and a solid, but the mixture doesn’t become one or the other. A solid has its own shape whereas a liquid will take the shape of the container it is put into. Oobleck is a bit of both!

That’s why oobleck is called a non-Newtonian fluid. This means it is neither a liquid nor a solid but has properties of both! You can pick up a clump of the substance like a solid and then watch it ooze back into the bowl like a liquid. Touch the surface lightly and it will feel firm and solid. If you apply more pressure, your fingers will sink into it like a liquid.

CHECK OUT MORE FUN OOBLECK RECIPES:

GO ON A FUN ST PATRICK’S DAY TREASURE HUNT TODAY!

Click on the link or on the image below for more awesome ST PATRICK’S DAY ACTIVITIES.