Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Bartholomew and the Oobleck

Bartholomew and the Oobleck is a 1949 book by Dr. Seuss. It follows the adventures of a young boy named Bartholomew, who must rescue his kingdom from a sticky substance called oobleck. The book is a sequel of sorts to The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins.
In the book, the King of Didd announces that he is bored with sunshine, rain, fog, and snow, and tells his magicians to add some variety to the weather. As a result, large piles of sticky oobleck fall throughout the kingdom, covering everything. The king soon regrets his wish, but since his magicians' cave has been buried in oobleck, he can do nothing to remove the substance. Eventually, his page, Bartholomew, advises him to say "I'm sorry." The king complies, and the oobleck melts away.
Read the story, and then prepare a batch of this magic oobleck:

Mix 2 cups cornstarch, 1 cup water, and green food coloring. Put the "oobleck" on a sheet of wax paper so that you can manipulate it. (I put some on a cookie sheet and my 3 1/2 year old was entertained for a very long time!) Discuss this strange form of matter. Is it liquid? Or solid? How would it feel if this fell from the sky?

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