Oobleck Sensory Play

Oobleck is easy to make using just 2 ingredients, messy and lots of fun to explore! This makes it a perfect indoor sensory play activity for toddlers and preschoolers. Older kids will love exploring the science behind how Oobleck changes from a liquid to a solid - they won't even know they are learning! Today we added penguins to our Oobleck to create a winter small world scene.

Take a look at our frozen fish oobleck sensory play or try one of these indoor sensory play ideas: puffy paints, bath paints, taste safe ice painting

Harry (aged 4) has always loved playing with oobleck, but today it was the first time Daisy (17 months) has played with it. She loved it! Oobleck sensory play kept the children busy for almost an hour, making it a perfect activity to do inside on a cold, rainy winters day.

How to make oobleck

You will need:

2 cups of Cornflour (cornstarch)
1 cup of Water

This recipe really couldn't be any simpler. Just mix the cornflour and water together. If you want coloured oobleck add a small amount of food colouring. Add an extra sensory element by putting some oobleck in an ice cube tray in the freezer to make frozen oobleck.

Oobleck is fascinating. It has the properties of both a solid and a liquid depending on how much pressure you apply to it.

Oobleck Sensory Play

Today we set up a frozen small world with a winter and penguin theme. I filled 2 baking trays with oobleck.

I added some cornflour that hadn't been mixed with water so Harry and daisy could explore the different textures.

Oobleck penguin small world. Science for kids.

They couldn't wait to start exploring. Harry loved the feel of the oobleck and found it hilarious to cover me in it!

Oobleck sensory play recipe for toddlers, preschoolers, eyfs.

After some time exploring the oobleck and playing with the penguins in their snowy small world I introduced some frozen oobleck. I had previously frozen some oobleck in a star ice cube tray. I had added a few drops of blue food colouring to some of the oobleck before freezing it.

Frozen oobleck. A simple recipe using 2 ingredients. Science experiments for kids

Penguin small world. Create a winter scene using frozen oobleck. Sensory play for kids, toddlers, preschoolers, eyfs.

Frozen oobleck / goop sensory play. Science for toddlers.

Harry was amazed to see the blue mixing with the white oobleck as it melted.

Sensory play and science for kids. A penguin themed winter small world using frozen oobleck.

Exploring frozen oobleck. A simple 2 ingredient recipe. Science for kids

He decided to tip one tray of oobleck into the other.

Oobleck sensory play. How to make and play with frozen oobleck. Scicene for kids, eyes, toddlers, preschoolers.

Which resulted in oobleck pouring all over the table. Harry found it really funny to find that the tray had stuck to the oobleck on the table.

oobleck sensory play ideas for kids. A frozen small world with a penguin and winter theme.

Harry asked me to freeze the tray of oobleck when he had finished his activity. It has frozen into a sheet of oobleck ready for some more fun another day.

Frozen oobleck sensory play and science for kids. Simple 2 ingredient recipe. Create a winter and penguin theme small world. Suitable for toddlers, preschoolers, eyfs.

Harry: Age 4

Daisy: Age 17 months

This activity is part of the 'A-Z of Indoor Play' hosted by Crafty Kids at Home. We took the letter O for 'Oobleck sensory play', click on the link above to see the other ideas.