How to Turn Liquid into a Squishy Solid

Have you ever turned a liquid into a solid just by tapping on it? Watch this fun video and learn how to conduct a viscosity experiment at home with a few simple steps!

Click here to download a PDF of the experiment to print & recreate with your kids at home!

All you need for this experiment is corn starch, water, a bowl for mixing and newspaper.

Terms You Should Know:

Viscosity is a term to describe the resistance of a liquid to flow. For most liquids, viscosity depends only on temperature. We call these fluids Newtonian.

Non-Newtonian is a term used when viscosity also depends on the force applied to the liquid or how fast an object is moving through the liquid.

Your goal with this activity is to create a mixture that feels like a stiff liquid when you stir slowly, but feels like a solid when you tap on it with your spoon or finger.

Find us at Facebook.com/abc11scienceclub to share photos of your viscosity experiment!