Looking for indoor activities in Baton Rouge? Look no further! There is no shortage of things to do with kids in Baton Rouge in general, but sometimes you specifically need an indoor activity. Whether it’s too hot or too rainy, here are Red Stick Mom’s top picks for family-friendly indoor activities in Baton Rouge.
Bring on the LSU crafting fun with this how to make bouncy balls: LSU Style!
Bouncy balls … all kids love them.
They can be rolled around, bounced, and thrown through the air. Making bouncy balls at home is even more fun. This following activity will have your kids feeling like a scientist in the kitchen, LSU fan style. If you aren’t an LSU fan, that is alright. Only for this activity though. You will have the opportunity to change up the colors of the bouncy ball!
Football season is finally upon us all, and we know what that means :: LSU EVERYWHERE. Saturdays are spent either on LSU’s campus or at home with family and friends waiting for the Fighting Tigers to play. Don’t even think about scheduling any other events on game day either! As much as we love our LSU Tigers, we just had to represent them in this fun activity.
Making Bouncy Balls
These bouncy balls are super easy to make and will be ready in a matter of no time. Let’s get the ball making started!
Ingredients
You will need the following items for this activity:
- 2 Tbsp Borax
- 1 c. water (warm)
- 4 Tbsp white school glue
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch
- 2 drops of yellow food coloring
- 2 drops of purple food coloring
Let the fun begin.
We will be doing these steps twice … one for each color. First, measure out 1/2 cup of warm water into a cup. Carefully add 1 Tbsp of Borax to the warm water and stir until dissolved.
(Note on Borax: I know a lot of talk has been made on the use of Borax in kid activities. The main concern is your child inhaling the Borax when it is in powder form which could cause respiratory irritation. If you believe your child is too young to measure out the Borax safely, have an adult do this step. Now is the best time to begin teaching your children safety in doing experiments.)
In another cup, mix 2 tbs white school glue, 1 tbs of cornstarch and 2 drops of yellow food coloring. Add this glue mixture to the cup with Borax and let it sit for about 15 seconds. Have your child take a fork to scoop out the ‘bouncy ball’ and begin to roll it into a ball shape. Set it aside.
Repeat these steps for the purple food coloring. Take the purple ‘bouncy ball’ and the yellow ‘bouncy ball’ material and combine them by rolling them together. You have control of the size here … if you want a larger bouncy ball, then combine all of it. For a smaller bouncy ball, add half of each. This recipe will make 2 regular sized bouncy balls or 1 large bouncy ball.
The more the bouncy ball is handled, the less sticky and firm it will become. My kids had so much fun making their own bouncy ball!
For storage, you will want to keep it in a sealed Tupperware or ziploc bag to keep them from drying completely out. We stored our bouncy balls in a plastic egg so that it would maintain its shape a little better since these bouncy balls will flatten some after sitting. That is okay if they flatten … just roll them back into their ball shape and bounce away. Don’t expect these to bounce too high either. I actually like the fact that they don’t bounce super high because then we can bring these out to tailgating without the worry of chasing them down around campus.
Not an LSU Tiger Fan? Switch out these colors for different ones – easy peasy!
For this crew, it is “GEAUX TIGERS!”
