Homemade Glow in the Dark Play Dough

After our fun story play with light, I thought we’d have a go at making some glow in the dark play dough!

We made some cooked play dough & once it was cool I removed a third of the dough. (I placed the remaining dough in an airtight bag, ready for another day.)

I added some glow in the dark paint from the Early Learning Centre & kneaded it into the dough.

I repeated this process until the mixture became sticky. I left it for 10mins until the dough had dried a little, & the consistency was smooth. I added more paint & continued mixing into the dough.

To check the dough had a glow, I moved the dough into a darker area of the kitchen to see if it radiated any light, & to my surprise it did!

To ‘charge’ the dough up, & prevent it from drying out, I placed it in an air tight Kilner jar & sat it on a windowsill in full sun. The sunlight caused the dough to glow - Hurrah! To add an extra ‘boost’ we shone a powerful torch on the dough, which made the dough to glow even brighter.

For the dough to maintain its glow it needs to sit for a few hours in direct light. If the dough is manipulated for a long period of time without much light it's unlikely to produce such a bright result. But once charged the effects are magical.

This really does work! I don't have the best camera, so the photos don't to it justice, but the dough does glow very bright.

What a great way to explore light, solar energy, power, sensory play, imagination & creativity.

I’m thinking it would be great fun for any parties coming up at the end of October & treat bags too! ;-)