McMaster Engineering GO ENG Soft Matter Physics Workshop

Discover soft matter physics! This workshop offers hands-on activities where students explore key physics concepts while making slime, bouncy balls, and toothpaste. At Station 1, students dive into polymer science by creating slime. They'll see how changing ingredient ratios affects slime's thickness (viscosity) and learn about its stretchy (elastic) properties. They'll also find out that slime behaves differently from water—it's a non-Newtonian fluid! Station 2 turns students into material scientists as they design bouncy balls. They'll learn how material structure affects bounce (elasticity) and discover the science behind how energy is stored and released during bouncing. In Station 3, students become materials engineers by formulating their own toothpaste. They'll see how adding ingredients changes toothpaste thickness and learn about its response to squeezing and spreading.