week 5: cloud dough

Cloud dough is a very versatile project! It's best suited for younger kids, although older kids can certainly join in if they wish. This simple project can be twisted into multiple different variations for maximum exploration.

Materials: 

• 2 cups flour
• 1/4 cup oil (Except for coconut oil. Cooking oil or baby oil works fine.)
• OPTIONAL (if you want to color your dough): 1 teaspoon candy food coloring (Don't use regular food coloring, since this project is oil-based.)

Directions:

1. Mix the flour and oil together. If you are adding color, then mix the candy food coloring with the oil separately before mixing with the flour. 
2. Knead the mixture together until you have formed a dough-like consistency. 

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What's Going On?
You can explore the properties of liquids by setting this up as an experiment! Gather a couple of liquids other than oil, such as syrup or lotion. Record how many tablespoons of each liquid it takes in order for it to successfully mix with the flour.
You will notice that thicker liquids require more amounts to mix. This thickness is known as viscosity, which we touched upon last week!