Bartholomew and the Oobleck Recipe

One of the most famous books by Dr. Seuss is Bartholomew and the Oobleck. This is the basis for the creation of this simple and engaging Green Oobleck recipe. Have fun reading it aloud to the kids – while pairing your reading with a simple science experiment that you’ll want to do over and over.

More About The Book Bartholomew And The Oobleck By Dr. Seuss

In this story, Bartholomew must rescue his kingdom from a sticky green substance called “oobleck.”

Over time, people started referring to the sticky cornstarch and water mixture as oobleck. It’s more of a messy play item, but it’s so much fun to create and even better to actually play with.!

Naturally, making a cornstarch oobleck recipe is the perfect activity to go along with the book! We love being able to combine reading with hands-on Easy Science Experiments For Preschoolers, and this cornstarch and water recipe is one we come back to again and again.

I also found these Thing 1 and Thing 2 Mega Blocks to use as toys for my kids to play with along with the oobleck. Aren’t they just the cutest?! They just make it have a fun texture and add a bit of sensory to it as well.

Unfortunately, there isn’t an official Bartholomew and the Oobleck playset! Maybe there will be one day…but not yet.

What you’ll need to make this oobleck recipe:

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• Cornstarch
• Green food coloring (you can also use tempera paint instead)
• Dr. Seuss toys (here is the set we used)
• Water
• Large tray
• Bartholomew and Oobleck Book

Oobleck recipe

One of my favorite things about oobleck is that it is an activity that is taste-safe if you use food coloring instead of tempera paint. That’s why it’s included in my Sensory Play For 1 Year Old’s Ideas + Activities blog post.

You can see here when my one year old joined us in playing with oobleck : How to make goop using cornstarch and water.

But just because my one-year-old loved it doesn’t mean that the rest of the family didn’t.

We can safely and honestly say that anytime Oobleck is made in my home… EVERYONE’S hands can’t help but dig in… including the teens and adults.

Learn how to make How To Make Play Dough too!

How To Make The Oobleck Recipe

Since this recipe is messy, it’s best to make it in advance before the kids are ready to play in it.

I like to start with a ratio of 2 parts of corn starch and .75-1 part water. The water always goes a little farther than you think but can be remedied by adding more cornstarch.

Step 1: Begin by adding drops of green food coloring to 1 cup of water. Then mix.

Dye your water, rather than the entire mixture, and it will turn green without a lot of struggling while you are stirring the mixture.

Put in more food coloring than you think you’ll need, or else your oobleck will be mint green rather than snot green (or you can go with a paler green if you like!).

Helpful Tip: You can use tempera paint instead of green food coloring if you prefer and want to make sure you have no hand staining. We don’t generally get stained hands from food coloring in oobleck, but if you want to make sure you don’t you can use Tempera Paint. Please note that if you use tempera paint, this recipe is no longer taste-safe.

Step 2: Add 2 cups of cornstarch to the green water.

Then mix with your hands.

Depending on your altitude and humidity, it may take adding more cornstarch or adding more water to make this happen. Add more cornstarch slowly, a TBSP at a time.

You want a consistency that makes a non-Newtonian fluid (which is where the mixture oozes if you relax pressure but hardens when you put a lot of pressure on it).

Playing with the Oobleck

Once the oobleck is the right consistency, allow the kids to play in it with the Dr. Seuss toys.

We also like to add in different textures of things like a strainer or spatula to add to the sensory fun when playing with oobleck.

And don’t forget to read the story of Bartholomew and Oobleck to your kids while they are playing!

Oobleck can be stored in an airtight container for several days. If the mixture gets too hard, you can revive it with a small amount of water.

Like this fun oobleck recipe? Check out these other great sensory crafts and activities:

No Glue Slime Recipe- 2 Ingredient Slime!

Edible Slime – Candy Corn Slime Recipe

How To Make Glow In The Dark Slime

Water Beads Fun Sensory Bin!

Easy Confetti Moon Dough Recipe Perfect for Sensory Play