It’s ooey. It’s gooey. It squishes through your fingers and squelches in your palms. It’s slime. It might not be the first thing to come to your mind when you think of “Washington Square Park,” but if you haven’t spent a Wednesday afternoon in the NW Corner with Miss Debbie and Miss Tae mixing up your own batch of the colorful goop, you’re missing out.

Youth Activities Coordinator Miss Debbie has been bringing fun and creative arts & crafts activities to the NW corner for about a year now. Delighted kids from across the city have expressed themselves at Art in the Park, special holiday gatherings, visits with honeybees, and most recently, she’s teamed up with Miss Tae and her SLI:ME project to bring you SLIME in the Park.

“The SLI:ME project is a participatory art activity,” says Miss Tae. “SLI:ME is more than just a cool name, it emphasizes the ‘me’ in slime, since people choose their glue type, color, and decoration materials to create their own slime. Through making slime, I want to help people explore their self-identity by questioning their personalities and tastes. SLI:ME also helps to build stronger communities as people build meaningful dialogue and relationships as they share their stories and their slime.”

It might seem odd, that slime could help build a community, but it’s a unique form of self-expression that seems to defy expectations. As each artist finishes their slime, they are asked to donate just a little piece of it to the project, so a part of their personality is left behind for others to enjoy. “Through a process of sharing slime, I want people to know that each slime has a special meaning and story about it, even if it is just slime.”

Being in Washington Square Park has allowed Miss Tae to reach dozens of kids eager to mix up their own batch. “The creativity of children is amazing,” says Miss Tae, “the way they interpret their surroundings can be expressed in such unexpected ways. And the beauty of slime is you really can’t be wrong. There’s no such thing as perfect slime, so there’s no pressure to be perfect.” 

Kids and adults of all ages are welcome to participate in SLIME in the Park, all that Miss Tae asks is that you keep an open mind. Your next chance to get knuckle deep in some slime is coming up on October 30th at Miss Debbie’s Halloween Party. Stop by and dive in, you might just be surprised at what you learn.