At KidsQuest, summer camp means science experiments, artistic creations, stories, games and, oh, so much museum fun. This week’s Animal Explorers Camp was no different, but when one of my campers commented: “I wish I had gak at my house,” I thought, why shouldn’t you? We love making gak in camp, both in big batches for our swimming sea creatures and in small individual cups for making gak monsters! So, here’s our favorite gak recipe. Now you can create some of the fun of KidsQuest summer camp at home!

You’ll Need:

• 1 C Clear or White School Glue
  
• Water
  
• Food Coloring (optional)
  
• 1 Teaspoon Borax Powder
  
• Two Bowls
  
• Hands for Mixing!   
  
  

1. Pour 1 C of glue into a medium mixing bowl. (Ask your child: How does the glue look? How does it feel?)  
   
2. Add ¼ C of warm water and mix.
3. Add 2 drops of food coloring. What happened? (Note: We use liquid watercolor at the museum, because it is less likely to stain, but food coloring will work great too.)
4. In a separate bowl, mix ½ C warm water and 1 teaspoon of borax powder to the water. It’s ok if it doesn’t dissolve all of the way. (Note: You can find borax in the laundry aisle of the store.)
5. Slowly add the borax solution to the glue. What do you observe? Keep adding and mixing, mixing, mixing until your gak feels perfect!  
   
   

So what did my campers have to say about mixing up our latest batch of homemade gak?

“It’s really interesting.”
“Sticky!”
“Playdoughy!”
“I want to touch it!” 

We really enjoyed conducting this experiment and exploring the results of this simple chemical reaction. I’m sure you will too! So, there you go my friends, now you can have gak at your house!






Note: Did your gak stick somewhere you didn't want it to? Your shirt, your hair, or your dog perhaps? You can use extra borax solution or a mixture of equal parts vinegar and water to remove it.

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Miss out on Animal Explorers Camp but still want to participate in some summertime fun? Check out Miss Alison's last camp of the season, Science Explorers!