Fantastic Foam Dough Experiments with 4-H Tribal Mentoring

By: Dan Sweet

With the 4-H Tribal Mentoring Program starting back up in the Salmon River Middle school, various 4-H'ers from both Salmon River Elementary and St. Regis Mohawk schools met up for a fun filled afternoon of activities. Outside of the academic and physical activity time, members of the program engaged in a sensory science experiment: Foam Dough. For the foam dough experiment, it is recommended to use mixing trays or even a picnic table cloth to cover your area, because things can and will get messy! Using two inexpensive household items, corn starch and shaving cream, 4-H'ers experimented with foam dough consistencies. While some groups tested out mixing different amounts of corn starch to shaving cream, others jumped right into the mess combining the entire contents of each ingredient into the mixing tray. What the 4-H'ers discovered while participating in this experiment was that less shaving cream made the 'dough' more crumbly, while more shaving cream made it very gooey. The sweet spot of the foam dough seemed to use equal parts corn starch and shaving cream, creating a texture similar to Play-Doh. Each week 4-H'ers will be provided with fun new STEM, physical, and educational activities in order to help create friendships that will last a lifetime. The 4-H Tribal Mentoring program is currently available to 6th graders who were enrolled in 4-H last year, with the 5th grade program beginning in January at both Salmon River Elementary and St. Regis Mohawk schools.