Mad Scientist Birthday Party: Part 2

I covered the first half of Will’s party in Mad Scientist Birthday Party: Part 1, so let’s talk a little bit about decorations, props, and food in Part 2. Because Will’s birthday falls so close to Halloween, our house was already filled with Halloween decorations. So I didn’t go too crazy with the decorations—I just tried to create a simple lab effect. I used silver plastic tablecloths to simulate stainless steel lab tables and set a pair of thin rubber gloves at each place.

Lunch was very simple: pizza and apples with caramel dip. Will and Grammy made brain cupcakes and we used sterile gauze pads as napkins. Tim put up a few black, green, and white streamers, and that was it!  But there are so many other things you could do. You could order test tubes and beakers online and have them sitting around or put food or drinks in them. You could hang posters or print-outs of famous scientists like Albert Einstein and Marie Curie on the walls. You could even dress up like a mad scientist yourself, with a wig, glasses, and pens in your pocket.

I cheated a little on the last experiment. We were all going to make slime, but it was such a gorgeous day that the boys wanted to play outside for a bit. So I made it while they were playing and scooped the slime into baggies for each to take home. Speaking of goody bags, I filled the big black plastic cups from lunch with Nerds and Pop Rocks (and the slime). We had set the volcanos aside to dry on squares of wax paper, so we sent those home with the boys, too. (Be sure to write their names on the squares so you don’t get them mixed up.)

Here’s the recipe for slime. The way the slime forms is seriously cool! I tripled it to make enough to send home with everyone.

Slime Recipe
Ingredients:
borax powder
water
4 ounce bottle Elmer’s white glue
food coloring

In a bowl, mix together the glue, 1/2 cup water, and a few drops of food coloring. In a separate bowl, mix one cup of water with 1 tsp. borax powder. Slowly stir the glue mixture into the bowl of borax solution. Knead the slime until it feels dry (some water might be left in the bowl).

I think I covered everything. It really was a lot of fun. Let me know if you give it a try!