Experiment making magic mud

You’ll need

Mixing bowls
Wooden spoons
Knives
Chopping boards
Potatoes

Before you begin

Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Additional help to carry out your risk assessment, including examples can be found here. Don’t forget to make sure all young people and adults involved in the activity know how to take part safely.
Make sure you’ll have enough adult helpers. You may need some parents and carers to help if you’re short on helpers.

Magic mud

Wash your potatoes well. A few large potatoes will make enough magic mud to play with, but use more if you want to make lots. You could split into smaller groups, with each group making their own magic mud.
Chop the potatoes up into small chunks and make them as small as you possibly can. You could use a grater or food processor if you have access to these.
Put the chopped potatoes into a large heatproof mixing bowl, then add enough hot water from the tap to cover them. Make sure there is suitable adult supervision while using the hot water.
Stir the potatoes for a few minutes.
When ready, an adult should carefully pour the mixture through a sieve into another large bowl.
Throw away the remaining potatoes in the sieve into a food waste bin or add them to a compost pile.
Leave the water in the bowl to stand for about 10 minutes until a white layer settles at the bottom of the bowl. You could play some games while you wait.
Pour off the water and watch as the white layer somehow stays in the bottom of the bowl!
Add some more cold water and stir it into the mixture. Leave the bowl to sit for another ten minutes. After ten minutes, pour the water away again. This step will have cleaned up your magic mud.
Now you’re left with your magic mud! Get your hands in, and see what’s so magic about it.

The magic mud is something called a non-Newtonian fluid. This just means it acts differently when it is poured to when it is pushed.

Reflection

How can a normal potato make something like magical mud? Sometimes normal things, like potatoes, can hide amazing things inside, just like normal people can do amazing things. What other cool science experiments have you seen before?

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

Sharp objects: Teach young people how to use sharp objects safely. Supervise them appropriately throughout. Store all sharp objects securely, out of the reach of young people.
Hot items and hot water: Kettles, cookers and microwave ovens produce a lot of heat by the very nature of them. Caution is needed when in contact with items that have been heated and young people should use them under adult supervision. Use on a suitable surface, protecting it if necessary. Never leave hot items unattended and make sure there’s a nearby first aid kit, with items to treat burns/scalds.