How to Make a Quicksand Experiment

Spread sheets of newspaper over a cleared tabletop. Measure a cup of cornstarch and add it to the bowl along with 1/2 cup of water. Stir the mixture with a spoon or blend it with your hands. Add a few drops each of green and red food coloring to give your quicksand a sandy color, if desired.

Test the viscosity of your quicksand. It should react like a liquid if stirred and like a solid if you tap the surface with the back of your spoon or pat it with your hand. Add more cornstarch if mixture feels too watery when you stir it. A dry and stiff mixture needs more water.

Try moving your hand through the fluid at varying speeds. You should feel little resistance when you move your hand slowly and a noticeably greater resistance when you try to move your hand quickly.

Poke a finger into the mixture and note how it behaves like a liquid with this kind of action. If you slap on its surface however, you will feel like you've hit a solid. For this reason, it's recommended that you try to float on the surface and move slowly and deliberately if faced with a quicksand encounter.

Scoop up a handful of the quicksand and press it into a round shape. Note how it feels solid under the pressure of your hand. Now, open your hand and watch how the quicksand loses its rounded shape and then drips through your fingers as it loses the viscosity gained from the pressure.

Drop pebbles into the quicksand, noting the reaction of the mixture to the weight and shape of the stones. Compare the sinking times for large flat stones and lighter rounded stones. Take a flat stone and place pennies on its surface. See how many pennies you can add before the stone begins to sink.