Making these DIY Bouncy Balls at home definitely takes away the fun of using those awesome 25¢ machines at the store, but it will add to your mad-scientist playtime.
To make your own bouncy balls you’ll need:
BASIC SUPPLIES:
- Cups or bowls to mix in.
- Craft sticks to mix with
- Water
- Measuring spoons
- Borax (found in the laundry section of stores)
- Corn Starch
- Glue (standard Elmers’ or your favorite similar glue)
OPTIONAL SUPPLIES:
- Food Coloring
NOTE: Because this DIY uses Borax, we recommend you don’t do this with younger kiddos who may be tempted to rub their eyes or taste test while making. Adult supervision is recommended whenever kids are in the kitchen or mixing ingredients.
DIY Bouncy Ball Instructions:
In a small bowl, mix hot water and borax
Mix 2 tablespoons of hot water and 1/2 teaspoon Borax together until all Borax is dissolved.
In another bowl, mix glue and food coloring
In a separate cup or bowl – mix 2 tablespoons of glue with some food coloring to get the color you’d like.
Combine borax and glue mixtures
Mix the colored glue and the water/Borax together.
Add cornstarch
Add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and mix with a craft stick until it gets too hard to mix anymore.
Shape into a ball and knead until hardened
Take your gooey glue blob out and start kneading it into the shape of a ball. (It will be sticky, but the more you knead it, the more it will harden into a normal superball)
BOUNCE!
BOOM – you have an awesome new bouncy ball. HAVE. FUN.
PS. If left out, the ball will probably get misshapen, but you can always knead it back into a ball…or make a new one!
For more hands-on kitchen ideas and suggestions, visit our collection of kitchen activities for kids!
I have tried so many recipes and this one out of like five none of them work. You can make the bouncy ball but once you let it sit, it will flatten out and you can shape it back into a bouncy ball! So all these recipes for Bouncy Balls DO NOT WORK!
Hi Christina, that is super frustrating! Thanks for the feedback. This post was an old one, written before I took over the site, so I haven’t tried to make these myself. I will definitely start experimenting and revisit the recipe. In the meantime – this video DIY from Silly Science with Simon looks kinda promising? https://youtu.be/Xa3203l2zLI