Cornstarch playdoughs

Cornstarch is the best playdough base we've found if you're looking for a quick, easy play substance.

If you mix cornstarch with a little water, you get a non-newtonian fluid, often called "goop" that's super fun to play with. You can roll it into a ball, but when you stop moving it, it melts in your hand.

If you mix cornstarch with white glue, you get the best air-dry clay I've ever used. It's smooth, takes detail well, and is pure white, so you can paint or color it after it's dry--even with crayons! It takes food coloring well when wet and is totally non-toxic. It also washes out of everything as long as you catch it while it's still wet.

If you mix cornstarch with conditioner, you get a soft playdough that breaks like a non-newtonian fluid but holds its shape better. It's very soft and fun to play with, but isn't edible (unless you use non-toxic conditioner!). This wouldn't be a good choice for babies because it smells good and is pretty. http://pagingfunmums.com/2013/11/01/soft-as-a-cloud-playdoughusing-only-2-ingredients/

The standard ratio for all of these recipes is 2 parts cornstarch to one part liquid (water, glue, or conditioner).  I imagine other liquids would make equally interesting concoctions to play with. We haven't tried, for example, using oil instead of water. Or adding Kool-Aid powder to the cornstarch-and-glue clay (would that give you scratch-and-sniff beads?). Could be a fun science experiment.