Making homemade Gak is not only super easy to do, but it provides hours of entertainment for your kids. Plus, you can help your child apply some scientific principles as you make this together. How’s that for a major mom win?
My oldest son, Nathan, loves science and is always asking to do experiments. His most recent interest is chemistry. So when he came home from his weekly science class with a recipe for Rubber Blubber aka Homemade Gak, to say he was excited is an understatement.
Using simple ingredients – borax, glue, and water – this easy Homemade Gak recipe is fascinating to watch as two liquids come together to form a solid. Or is it still a liquid? Because homemade Gak does move! Try it with your own kids and decide for yourself!
Easy DIY Gak for Kids
Another plus: this homemade Gak recipe takes less than 5 minutes to make! And it’s so easy to make, Nathan (he’s 10) can make it all by himself.
Homemade Gak is the perfect solution to keeping kids occupied on any rainy (or too hot) day.
One word of caution – with a tiny amount of borax in this recipe, I wouldn’t let small children (who may try to eat it) play with it. Instead, I recommend making homemade playdough (also easy and can be made in less than 10 minutes.)
Not only is making homemade Gak a cool science experiment, but it’s also just plain fun. My kids play for hours with their homemade Gak.
How to Make Homemade Gak:
Ingredients:
4 ounces school glue
1/2 cup water + 1/4 cup hot water
1/2 teaspoon Borax (you can find this in almost any store’s laundry detergent section)
food coloring – this food gel gives the best vivid colors and lasts a really long time.
*Note: this makes a nice amount of Gak; you can easily half the recipe and make two different colors.
How to Make Homemade Gak in 4 Easy Steps
Step 1: Pour the glue into a small container with 1/2 cup of water…
…and mix with a spoon.
Step 2: Add the food coloring…
…and stir in well.
Step 3: Dissolve 1/2 teaspoon of Borax with the remaining 1/4 cup of warm water.
Very important: stir until the borax is completely dissolved.
We didn’t let it dissolve completely one day and that batch was a failure. Oops!
If your Gak slime fails, this is almost certainly the reason why, so do your kids a favor and make sure it’s stirred completely. (You’ll save everyone, especially yourself a lot of hassle!)
Step 4: Pour the borax water into the glue mixture.
This is where it gets interesting. At first glance, it may look like your Gak experiment has failed, but stir it up and you’ll see the magic….er chemistry…happen.
Stir the gak until it’s become more solid and is forming around the spoon. Watch and be amazed. It is really cool.
I recommend waiting to handle it until the food coloring is well mixed in. Nathan was a little eager to start playing with his homemade Gak and ended up with slightly blue hands.
That and he got excited and added a little too much food coloring to start with. Somehow that shouldn’t have surprised me.
How to Use Gak
Kids can do so many fun things with Gak. Did you know it will bounce?
At the same time, gak will slowly spread.
it will also stretch, by the way!
And fold, of course! 😉
Have fun making this homemade Gak recipe with your kids!
Family Essential ↓
Homemade Gak
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 5 mins
Ingredients
- 4 ounces school glue
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup hot water
- 1/2 teaspoon Borax
- food coloring
Instructions
- Mix the glue and 1 /2 cup of water together. Add the food coloring. Set aside.
- In a measuring glass, dissolve 1/2 teaspoon Borax with 1 / 4 cup of warm water. Stir until it’s completely dissolved.
- Add the borax water to the glue mixture and mix well, until the Gak forms a blob around your spoon.
- Have fun!
Notes
Note: Make sure you 100% dissolve the borax in water before adding to the glue or the recipe will FAIL!
Frequently Asked Questions about Making Gak:
1. How long does Gak last?
My son’s batch lasted for over a month before he left it out and I threw it away. I would say a month to be safe, but it would likely be fine for longer.
2. I can’t find any Borax. Can I still make this recipe?
Borax is an essential ingredient in the consistency of this recipe. Without Borax,it will not be the same. You could definitely give it a try but I just don’t know how it would turn out. On another note, you can find Borax at Walmart, grocery stores, etc. – it’s by the laundry detergent and pretty cheap too. You can also try this borax-free dish soap slime recipe. It has a different texture and won’t last as long.
3. Do I need to store the Gak in the refrigerator?
We never refrigerate it and in our experience, it’s lasted at least a month or so.
If you loved this project, I highly encourage you to try this fun variation – Snowflake Glitter Slime.
Pin the image below to save the homemade gak recipe for later.
Nichol says
I had no clue you could make this. I buy the kids GAK because they love it. So doing this with them!
Erika says
I used to buy it too, Nichol. I was so excited when I found this recipe and discovered how easy it is too!
Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Crystal says
I was wondering how long the Gak lasts. I want to make it and separate it into sandwich baggies as party favors for my daughter’s 6th birthday party, but I also want to make sure to put a label on the baggies to let parents know when to toss it. We are also making homemade playdough, with a recipe that lasts up to 3 months.
Erika says
My son’s batch lasted for over a month before he left it out and I threw it away. Haha. I would say a month to be safe, but it would likely be fine for longer. Great idea for party favors! Have fun!
Thanks for stopping by!
Kasalina says
I think I had did it wroung it still soo watery??
Erika says
Oh how disappointing! It’s crucial that you dissolve every single tiny bit of borax or it won’t work properly. I’m working on a simpler version though so stay tuned!
Freddy says
You prolly did the same thing I did and followed to close to instructions sub lining the pictures on Step One “Step 1: Pour the glue into a small container with the 4 ounces of water…” I took the 4 ounces of water as all the water but upon reading the final instructions I found out where i went wrong. MIX EACH SEPARATE and there is no 4 ounces of water. lol thank you for this article…may want to fix step 1 though its a bit confusing.
Erika says
Thanks for pointing this out, Freddy. I updated the instructions. 🙂
Samantha says
Is the elmers glue, the white glue or the elmers glue in the brown bottle and it looks like honey!??
Whitney says
I have got to make this for my oldest!
Danielle says
This looks like so much fun!! And very similar to the recipe we used for homemade bouncy balls last year so I’m sure I still have all of the ingredients on hand.
Amber Edwards says
My boys love GAK! We are going to make this as soon as school gets out for summer next week! They are super excited!
Crystal says
This is awesome. Perfect for a summer activity for my children. Thanks for sharing.
Linette says
My son would love this! We’ll have to make some this summer!
Shannon Schmid says
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Erika says
Thanks, Shannon! I’m honored. 🙂
Marek Novak says
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I’m definitely loving the information. I’m bookmarking and will be tweeting this to my followers!
Wonderful blog and fantastic design and style.
David Smith says
My son used to like this stuff when he was younger. If I had known that we could make it ourselves, that would have been fun to make with him and we would have saved a little money since every school year we always found glue for dirt cheap. Thanks for the recipe and info.
Sandy says
Hi! I would love to make this for my children, but I can’t get any Borax. Is it necessary? My kids are so sad, please say we don’t need it!! Please respond 🙂
Sandy
Mom of 6 kids (A lot, right?)
Erika says
Sandy, thanks for stopping by! Borax is actually an essential ingredient in the consistency. Without Borax, I don’t think it would be quite the same. You could definitely give it a try but I just don’t know how it would turn out. On another note, you can find Borax at Walmart, grocery stores, etc. – it’s by the laundry detergent and is pretty cheap too. Hope that helps!
sue says
I found borax at Dollar general for 4$ Big box of it.
applesnoranges says
Liquid detergent will work in place of the Borax. You can find many recipes online for making it this way. I would estimate that for this recipe you’d replace the Borax dissolved in water with 1/4 cup liquid detergent. (The detergent needs to contain Borax. Most of the major brands do)
Kelli Ott says
Mix a Tsp of Baking Soda with the glue and then instead of Borax use a Tbsp of Contact Lens solution containing Boric Acid. My recipe didn’t call for water but the GAK is not very fluid either…
Sarah says
I’d love to watch the video of Nathan playing with the Gak, but when I click on it, it just says, “This video is private” 🙁
Melissa says
I just made this for my kids. Especially my son who has Autism and uses GAK at school on a daily basis. I was wondering of it needs to be refrigerated or kept out at room temperature? As how long will it last in the containers?
Thank you, Melissa
Natalie says
My kiddos and I just made this!! It’s all kinds if awesomeness!!!
Lucy says
I made glow in the dark and glitter gal bit I didn’t use borax. I have allergies so any dust or powder and I start sneezing. I used liquid starch instead. One of my two girls love it. Both are Autistic so it’s a greatv way to keep them busy while making it and after while playing with it. Great for sensory play
applesnoranges says
Liquid detergent will work in place of the Borax. You can find many recipes online for making it this way. I would estimate that for this recipe you’d replace the Borax dissolved in water with 1/4 cup liquid detergent. (The detergent needs to contain Borax. Most of the major brands do)
Erika says
Thank you for the tip!
Stephan Heumann says
This stuff has practical uses too—of course! I’m a dad (my 12-year-old and i had fun making it) and as a cashier (and semi-retired medical-device engineer) I’m trying to mitigate the hazards and harmful effects of the free (reactive and absorbable) BPA and BPS that is present in substantial quantities on receipt paper.
I’ll be using gak to clean my hands when i don’t have time to use soap and water. (Hand sanitizer with alcohol has been shown to accelerate absorption of BPA into the bloodstream by making the skin more permeable to it.)
Live well!
Stephan
Mountain View, CA
Erika says
Hi Stephan, I’ve never heard of using GAK to sanitize your hands before. That’s fascinating! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
10 Aarti says
This is awesome for summer time! my kids would love it. Thanks for sharing.
Christina says
I made the Gak with my grandkids and it turned out great! This is the best recipe I have found. Thank you for mentioning the importance of dissolving the Borax thoroughly, my grandkids really enjoyed it!
Erika says
I’m so glad to hear it. Thanks for telling me!
Kate says
Hi tried to make this the other day and it turned out like chopped up poached eggs deffiently not like GaK plz help my children love GaK but we cannot find it any where!
Erika says
I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you, Kate. I’ve never heard of it being super dry like that before. Some people have had a bad batch when the borax isn’t dissolved all the way. Did you use the right quantity of water? if it’s too dry, that’s the only thing I can think of to troubleshoot.
Susan says
I can’t wait to try this recipe!!
Josie says
Wow! this looks so much fun and easy too. I will have to try this. Thanks for sharing.
Tm Supportwave says
I appreciate your style & the sweet sense of this recipe & now I’m going to try it right now. Have great luck!
Erika says
Have fun!
Eliz says
Hey Erika!
I have this a go but wasn’t stretchy,more just split.When I let it sit it almost melted back together a bit.
Was wondering if you had any tips?
I made sure I dissolved the borax as I read the tips before starting…
The boys will probably still enjoy playing with it!!
Thanks
Erika says
Oh no! The only time we’ve had issues with this slime recipe not working correctly is when we’ve not dissolved the borax. Did you eyeball it carefully to make sure there wasn’t a hint of it left? What kind of glue did you use? Regular school glue? (I’m assuming so, but just trying to cover bases.) Thanks for your comment – this helps me troubleshoot for others too! I hope your boys still enjoy it!
MaryJane says
Can I start dissolving the borax in warm water the night before??
Erika says
I wouldn’t try this. The water will cool and the recipe may not work as well.