I have always wanted to try glow in the dark bath activities with the kids, so this week I gathered some supplies and got started. I tried a few things and thought I would share what worked and what didn’t! First thing you will need to know is this kind of stuff needs a black light. I found a cheap one for ten bucks at Walmart. As a matter of fact, everything you need to make these activities happen can be found at your Wal-Mart!
First: Playing with tonic water
I read that tonic water glows a cool blue under the black light….yep it does. I purchased two bottles of diet tonic water (that’s all I could find). We filled small water balloons and they glowed under the light too. Just place the balloon onto the bottle neck and gently squeeze the water into the balloon! We used the rest of the tonic water in the bath tub. Supposedly you can fill bath tub with water and the tonic water and it glows…..not so much. I think I needed more tonic water.
Second: Playing with fluorescent paints (see above pictures)
For this one we used a muffin tin. We put a small amount of shaving cream into each well. Then we grabbed our fluorescent paints (which can be purchased at Wal-mart) and mixed a little into each well filled with shaving cream. The kids initially started out using paint brushes but quickly began painting with their hands. They covered themselves and the bath walls! We turned off the lights and turned on the black light……AMAZING! They thought it was the best thing ever. Because shaving cream is a good cleansing agent, the paint washed right away. Just an FYI our fluorescent paints were also washable! If there was ever an activity I would say you must do…THIS IS IT!
Third: Playing with slime/gak
We have made slime before but this time we wanted it to glow under the black light. So we mixed in fluorescent paints and it worked! So here’s how to make your own slime that glows! Empty one bottle of Elmer’s glue into a bowl. Mix in a small amount of the paint to get the color you want. Just know the color will lighten a bit once you add the liquid starch in so you might make it darker than you think. Measure out a half cup of Stay Flo liquid starch (found at Wal-mart). Slowly pour the liquid starch into the glue and mix. Don’t pour in the entire amount at once. Just pour it in small increments until you get the desired consistency of slime. You will probably end up kneading it with your hands! We played with our slime and then placed it into Ziploc bags. We took the Ziploc bags to the black light and it did glow!
Hope you enjoy doing some of these things with your kiddos!
