How to Make Kinetic Sand

When the kids get tired of the Play-Doh and want something a little more "exciting," it's time to pull out the moon sand and wow them. With some good story spinning, you can even have them believing that an astronaut brought this wonderful stuff all the way back from the moon just for them to play with! Instead of buying the commercially made moon sand, try making your own at home.

Ingredients

Using Sand and Corn Starch

3 cups corn starch
1 1/2 cups water
6 cups fine, clean sand

Using Flour and Baby Oil

9 cups flour
1 1/4 cup baby oil

Using Corn Starch and Vegetable Oil

4 cups cornstarch
3/4 cup vegetable oil

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Using Sand and Corn Starch

1
Pour 1 1/2 cups of water into a large bowl. Something that isn't your finest china and is easy to clean later will be best. A large, plastic, not-so-fancy bowl will do well.
- If you want to color your sand, consider stirring in a few drops of liquid food coloring or liquid water color.
- To make glow-in-the-dark moon sand, consider stirring in a few drops of glow-in-the-dark paint into the water.
- To give your moon sand a scent, consider adding in a few drops of baking extract, such as lemon or vanilla. You can also add spices to your sand later on instead.
2
Pour 3 cups of corn starch into the water. Stir thoroughly to remove any lumps that are tempted to form. Corn starch has a tendency to clump.

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3
Consider adding color, scent, or glitter to the sand. You can buy colored sand, or plain sand. Colored sand will be more expensive, but plain sand will give you a clean slate to work with. If you hand plain sand and want a range of colors, you'll need to separate out the sand evenly into smaller containers and then add the different colors separately. Here are a few ways you can spruce up plain sand:^{[1]
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- Mix in a few teaspoons of glitter to the sand make it sparkly.
- Mix in a few tablespoons of powdered tempera paint, powdered watercolor, or powdered chalk to the sand to give it color. If you already colored the water, you don't need to do this. Keep in mind that powdered tempera paint will give you a brighter color.
- To give your moon sand a nice scent and color, consider adding in a few teaspoons of powdered drink mix, such as Kool-Aid).
- To give your moon sand a nice scent, consider adding in a sprinkle of baking spices, such as: apple pie, pumpkin pie, cinnamon, cocoa, or vanilla sugar.
4
Mix in the sand. At this stage, it is vital to mix the concoction well to ensure that all the ingredients are combining completely. Keep stirring!
- Try to get clean sand from your local home improvement store or arts and crafts store. Sand from the beach or playground isn't always very clean.
- If you have not already colored your sand, consider using pre-colored sand instead. You can find it in the children's crafts section or the floral section of an arts and crafts store.
5
Make time for playtime. Although making this is a lot of fun, do remember to leave time at the end for your child to enjoy it, too! And when you go to play with it later, you can revive the stuff with 2-3 tablespoons of water.^{[3]
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- And when you're done, package it all up in a resealable, air-tight container. Store it in a cool, dry place to maximize its longevity. It should keep and be usable for 2-3 months.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Using Flour and Baby Oil

1
Pour the flour into a large bowl. If you want to make different colors, divide the flour up into separate bowls. How many bowls you use will depend on how many colors you want. The best part about using flour and baby oil is that it stays nice and light, clean-looking, and a little less like sand (and the kids might just believe that it's from the moon).
2
Add any powder-based colors, scents, or glitter to the flour. It is a lot easier to mix dry materials with other dry materials than with wet. If you plan on adding any color, glitter, or scents, do so now. Be sure to mix it into your flour well. Here are some powders that you can add to your flour right now:
- Add a tablespoon or two of powdered tempera paint, powdered water color, or powdered chalk if you just want to add color. If you are using an oil-based food dye, hold off for now.^{[4]
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- Add some powdered drink mix, such as Kool-Aid to give your moon sand a color and a nice smell.
- Add in a few teaspoons or tablespoons of glitter to give your sand some extra powder.
- Add in a sprinkle of spices, such as pumpkin pie, apple pie, vanilla sugar, cocoa, or cinnamon if you want to give your moon sand a nice smell.
3
Add any oil-based scents and colors to the baby oil and stir well.^{[5]
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Research source} Water and oil do not mix, so regular food coloring or liquid water colors will not work. If you don't have any powdered paint or spices, you can still color and scent your sand by adding stuff to it. Here are a few suggestions:^{[6]
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- To color your moon sand without powdered paint, try using oil-based food coloring or oil-based candy coloring.
- To scent your moon sand without spices, add a few drops of essential oil or baking extract (like vanilla or strawberry).
4
Add the baby oil to the flour. Once your color is mixed in (or not, if you want a blank slate), add in 1 1/4 cups of baby oil. It'll probably be easiest to just mix it up with your hands, though you'll get a bit dirty. Or you could just let the kids do this step!
5
Mix it up and play with it. Once everything is in—color, scent, glitter and all—mix it all up thoroughly and get to playing with it. What'll be your first creation? A giant octopus? A castle? The moon itself?
- If you're dealing with small children, just make sure they don't get any in their mouths. Baby oil and flour isn't dangerous, but paint or chalk added into the mix won't be any fun.
6
Store in an air-tight container. Moon sand does keep for a solid month or two, but you'll probably find that you want to make more anyway before the first batch gets old. But until then, store this batch in an air-tight container in a cool, dry place, like your pantry or in a child's toy box.
- When you go to pull it back out for playtime round two, revive it with a couple tablespoons of water. It will come back to life and be just as good as new.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Using Corn Starch and Vegetable Oil

1
Pour 4 cups of corn starch into a large bowl. If you can't find any corn starch were you live, try searching for cornflour instead. This sand will be pure white if you don't add any color to it. It can look almost like snow!
- If you plan on creating different colors or smells, separate the corn starch into different bowls.
2
Mix in any glitter, scents, or powdered colors to the corn starch, if desired. It is much easier to mix dry ingredients with other dry ingredients. If you have any glitter, spices, or powdered colors that you want to add to your sand, do so now. Here are a few ways in which you can spruce up your sand:
- Add in a few teaspoons of glitter to make your sand sparkle. If you are leaving your moon sand white, consider using white, iridescent glitter instead.
- Add in a few tablespoons of powered tempera paint, powdered watercolor, or powdered chalk to give your moon sand some color.
- Add in a packet of powdered drink mix, such as Kool Aid, to give your sand a nice scent and color.
- Sprinkle in some baking spices, such as apple pie, pumpkin pie, cinnamon, cocoa, or vanilla sugar to give your sand a nice smell.
- If you want to add any essential oils or oil-based food dyes, save those for later.
3
Mix in any oil-based dyes or essential oils to the vegetable oil, if desired. You will need ¾ cup of vegetable oil. Because oil and water do not mix, you cannot use any water-based coloring or dyes. Whatever you add to the oil must be oil-based.
- If you can't find any powdered colors but still want to color your sand, add in a few drops of oil-based food coloring or oil-based candy coloring. Do not use plain old liquid food coloring; oil and water do not mix.
- If you can't find any spices that appeal to you, but still want to make your sand smell nice, add in a few drops of essential oil or baking extract, such as: vanilla, almond, or orange.
4
Mix the vegetable oil into the corn starch to keep it looking like snow. If it seems a little on the dry side, add a tablespoon or two of vegetable at a time to loosen it up. If it is too wet, add some more corn starch.
- The main advantage to this recipe is that these two ingredients combined make a moon sand that looks like snow. Only it's not cold, wet, and doesn't turn to black the more you play in it.
5
Mix it up well and start play time. Once everything's in, put your hands in and start being creative. How do the colors combine? What's it feel like? Ask more questions to get your child engaged in sensory play, which moon sand is notoriously great for.^{[7]
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6
Keep it in an air-tight container. After your child has gotten his or her fill (and you have, too, of course), transport the moon sand into an air-tight, resealable container. Keep it in a cool, dry location, like in a closet, under the bed, or in a toy box.
- When you go to play with it again (it keeps a few months, though it's cheap enough you could always make a new batch), bring it back to life with a few tablespoons of water. Start molding the sand with your hands to work the water in, and it'll be good as new in no time.

Community Q&A

Question

What oils can I use in place of baby oil?

Community Answer

You can use coconut oil instead.
Question

How long does the Moon Sand last?

Qamar

Top Answerer

The Moon Sand can last several months to a year.
Question

Can I use corn oil instead of vegetable oil?

Community Answer

Absolutely, you can use corn oil instead of vegetable oil, there's not a huge difference, so it won't change the recipe.

Warnings

This sand should not be eaten. Let your child know that just because it smells good does not mean it's edible.

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Also, teach children not to put it anywhere near their face, as it can be a nasal and eye irritant.

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Things You'll Need

Food dye, powdered tempera paint, Kool-Aid, or crushed chalk (optional, colors of choice)
Glitter (optional, must be very fine)
Container with lid for mixing and storage
Mixing stick or large wooden spatula
Gloves (optional)