Glow in the Dark Slime

Wow!  Fall has flown by and we've been so busy with school and sports activities through most of August, September, and the first part of October, that we've slacked on doing science experiments as a family.  Last week was Fall Break week and the kids and I decided it was time to do a few science experiments!  What better way to celebrate Fall Break than science?!?!

Back at Christmas my 8 year old received a slime making kid.  Shortly after we made color changing slime.  This time we decided to make glow in the dark slime!

Making slime is pretty straight forward and the instructions in this kit (above) are easy to follow.  When mixing in the materials you'll get a few chunks that don't dissolve in the water.  My recommendation is to remove them with a spoon when it's clear they won't dissolve any further.  

The trick to making glow in the dark slime is to add Zinc Sulfide (included in kit).  When light strikes Zinc Sulfide, it excites the electrons.  The electrons move up and down energy levels.  When moving down they release energy in the form of photons (light).  Take the slime into the dark and it glows!

Now that is cool!!!  At this point the zinc sulfide was not evenly mixed in the slime which is why you see the streaks above.  After my kids played with the slime for a bit, the zinc sulfide was much more evenly mixed, as seen below.

This slime making kit was well worth the very reasonable price.  We bought it for $14.99 at Target (comes with 4 slime making activities), but you might find it cheaper at Amazon or Ebay.  Regardless, slime making is a morning of fun for you and your kids!