Kinetic Sand Recipe for Sensory Play

By
Nora Nalle
Nora Nalle
Nora Nalle

Nora Nalle is a kids' crafts expert, writer, and teacher with almost a decade of experience creating crafts and STEM craft tutorials for children. She was also a craft stylist for for the "All You Frightfully Fun Halloween Handbook," which focuses on kids' Halloween projects.

Learn more about The Spruce Crafts' Editorial Process
Updated on 09/16/22
Person cutting through DIY kinetic sand

The Spruce / Nora Nalle

Project Overview
  • Working Time: 30 mins
  • Total Time: 1 hr
  • Yield: 1 batch of kinetic sand
  • Skill Level: Kid-friendly
  • Estimated Cost: $10

It is no secret that children love to play and get messy, but why would any parent, guardian, or educator want to bring a mess into their home? Children play in all sorts of ways to develop fine motor skills, gross motor skills, and social skills. There are activities you can do at home or school to aid children in developing these skills—one of them is encouraging sensory play.

Sensory play can build nerve connections in the brain's pathways, which will help little ones complete more complex learning tasks later in life. It can also help calm an anxious or frustrated child, and it helps kids learn sensory attributes: hot, cold, hard, soft, sticky, and dry.

Making kinetic sand is a great sensory play activity and one that a child can assist in making. Have them be your science assistant and practice skills of measuring, pouring, and mixing. Not only will they gain confidence by making something for themselves, but you’ll feel proud watching it unfold.

There are tons of other ways to make kinetic sand in addition to what's shown here—so feel free to try out other methods if you want.

Measuring cups and ingredients gathered together
@nadydelarosaphotography / Instagram

To get started on how to make kinetic sand, read through all of the instructions for this project. Then gather the correct materials to make the sand.

What You'll Need

Equipment / Tools

  • Mixing bowl
  • Measuring cup
  • Measuring spoons

Materials

  • Fine white sand
  • Corn starch
  • Dish soap
  • Food coloring
  • 1 cup water

Instructions

  1. Pour Sand Into Mixing Bowl

    It's important that the sand is kept dry. Ensure that your sand is bone dry before continuing with this step. If your sand is damp, you will need to bake it first to remove the excess water.

    Pour the sand into a bowl. Use as much sand as you'd like to play with. We used about 3 to 4 cups of sand.

    Pouring white sand into a bowl
    @nadydelarosaphotography / Instagram

    Tip

    If the sand is damp, spread it on a baking sheet, and bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 120 degrees F. Make sure the sand has cooled before pouring it into the mixing bowl.

  2. Add in Corn Starch

    Use your spoon measurer to measure out two tablespoons of corn starch, and add it to your sand. Help a child get an accurate measurement by having them scoop the corn starch with the measurer, and then use a finger to level out the powder in the spoon by brushing it across the top.

    Adding corn starch to the white sand
    @nadydelarosaphotography / Instagram

  3. Mix Cornstarch and Sand

    Mix together the sand and corn starch until the two are fully integrated. You can mix the two with your measuring spoon to save dishes. Set the sand and cornstarch mixture aside.

    Mixing the ingredients for kinetic sand
    @nadydelarosaphotography / Instagram

  4. Make the Colored Soapy Water Solution

    Since kinetic sand is made up of 98 percent sand and 2 percent polymers—you will need to make a solution containing polymers to add to the sand. The polymers that we need for our kinetic sand are found in dish soap.

    First, measure out a cup of water. Add in 1 tsp of dish soap. Mix together the soap and water with the measuring spoon until bubbles appear on the surface.

    Adding dish soap to water
    @nadydelarosaphotography / Instagram

  5. Add Color to Your Soapy Water Solution

    Add at least 6 drops of food coloring into the soapy water solution. We used red and blue food coloring to make purple kinetic sand. The darker the soapy water solution is, the more colorful your sand will be. It takes more food coloring in the water then you think it does. Should you decide later to add more food coloring, you can do so when you are mixing your sand.

    Adding food coloring to dish soap and water solution
    @nadydelarosaphotography / Instagram

  6. Add Soapy Colored Solution to Your Sand and Mix

    Mixing the water solution and the sand mixture
    @nadydelarosaphotography / Instagram

    Slowly pour the solution into your sand. If you pour too fast, your sand will be runny. You are aiming for a consistency of a really thick milkshake. It's best to take this step slow and mix the sand with the solution as you go—you will not need to use all the solution you made.

    For mixing: roll up your sleeves and dive in with both hands.

  7. Enjoy Your Kinetic Sand

    The best part of making kinetic sand is playing with it afterward. Use a plastic knife or fork to try slicing your sand. Have fun with cookie cutters and sandcastle molds. If you are planning to save your sand, package it in an air-tight container or zip bag. Note that the sand may start to dry after a while (the air will evaporate the liquid in the sand). If it does, add some more soapy water solution to continue playing. Enjoy!

    If you enjoyed this craft you may also enjoy making slime or moldable dough.

    Playing with kinetic sand
    @nadydelarosaphotography / Instagram