We’ve made tons of slime recipes, but until we started experimenting with borax-free slime recipes, I had no idea you could make slime using baking soda and glue! This baking soda slime was super easy to make, but it was stickier than our favorite slime recipe.
We decided that on Earth Day, we should only use Earth-friendly ingredients and no questionable chemicals like Borax. Baking soda slime is a fun alternative to use that makes a slime that almost has the same texture as traditional borax-based slime. Keep reading to learn how to make baking soda slime!
My kids had a blast making and playing with this slime, and I knew there was no worry about hurting their skin or causing allergic reactions because all it is is non-toxic glue and baking soda.
However, if you make this Earth Day slime, be prepared to get messy.
Unless your kids have a baking soda sensitivity (some do), there is no reason why you can’t make this recipe with kids who are old enough not to try and put slime in their mouths. It’s the perfect addition to your spring STEM activities!
The Ultimate Baking Soda Slime Recipe
Read on to see how to make slime with baking soda and water. You can also find another fun version of baking soda slime in our basic baking soda slime recipe.
Baking Soda Slime Science
Traditional slime is made when boron mixes with the polymer chains in the glue, creating strong, but flexible bonds between the molecules. There are so many fun tweaks you can make to a basic slime recipe, like my kid’s favorite, fluffy slime!
We made this baking soda slime version as an alternative to slime that is made with borax. It is a little safer for the earth, and a little safer for your kids, too!
Tips to Make the Perfect Slime Recipe with Baking Soda
If this is your first time making slime, you should follow along with our post on slime troubleshooting. Luckily, liquid laundry starch slime made with clear glue is the easiest slime recipe.
If you don’t want to waste a lot of ingredients, try mixing up a small batch first to make sure you won’t have to tweak it before you make the larger version. We always stock up on gallon sizes of glue and the large laundry starch just in case something goes wrong (but it almost always goes smoothly).
How to make slime with glue and baking soda
Follow these directions and you’ll have the best Earth Day slime ever!
What you’ll need to make Earth Day slime:
This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.
Elmer’s Liquid School Glue, Premium Clear, Washable, 1 Gallon, 1 Count – Great For Making SlimeFood Coloring Liqua-Gel – 6 Color Rainbow Kit in .75 fl. oz. (20ml) BottlesPurex Sta-Flo Liquid Starch, 64 OunceOriginal Stationery Arts and Crafts Glitter Shake Jars, Extra Fine, 24 Multi color Set
Glue and Baking Soda Slime Directions
This borax-free slime is totally safe for kids and is a fun, messy way to play on Earth Day!
Warm your water in the microwave or on the stove. Dissolve 1/4 of a cup of baking soda into the water and stir until all the particles are dissolved.
Divide your 5 ounce bottle of Elmer’s clear glue into two small bowls. Color one part blue and one green.
Add half of the baking soda mixture to each container of glue.
Gently stir with a fork until slime starts to form.
This slime is much stickier than slime made with laundry starch or Borax powder, so be prepared for that.
Over time, it does get stickier, so what we did is reserve a bit of the baking soda water and whenever the slime started to stick to our fingers, we dipped them into the baking soda water, which solidified the slime a little more.
The slime turns into a sort of gloopy mess at first, but once you pick it up and start working it between your fingers, it will turn into regular, stretchy slime (although stickier).
Cover the bottom of the plate with the blue slime.
Add drops of green slime to make the continents. We didn’t get too accurate with our placement, but you could be more accurate if you wanted.
Once the Earth is made, play with the slime. It will eventually turn a pretty teal color.