What are Orbeez balls? In this guide, you’ll learn everything there is to know about Orbeez, everyone’s favorite squishy water marble. You may have heard of them or have come across one of the hundreds of YouTube videos showing people playing and experimenting with this bizarre toy.
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What is Orbeez?
Orbeez is a water-absorbent polymer bead that expands into a soft, dewy, bouncy ball after submerging in water. It’s extremely popular with both kids and grown-ups because of its slippery smooth yet springy surface, which offers a lot of sensory play possibilities.
You can squeeze it, dribble it, throw it, and play with it however you want. And they’re reusable too! So when you or your kids get bored of them, you can simply mix them in with your garden soil or plop them in your flower vase. They’re non-toxic and 100% biodegradable.
When you first encounter Orbeez, you’ll see that they look like tiny hard beads no bigger than a toy gun pellet. However, that’s only the beginning. Once you submerge the beads in water, they’ll grow up to 150 times their size! It may feel like magic but there’s a very good explanation for it.
Orbeez, which are also known as water beads, are made up of super absorbent polymer (SAP) that can absorb and retain an incredibly large amount of liquid. This type of polymer is hydrophilic, which means they’re highly attracted to water!
It’s this network of super absorbent polymer that gives Orbeez its unique and amusing feature. The polymer’s very large molecules absorb the water molecules by linking with them and storing them in between their chains, effectively merging with the liquid. So if you cut open a hydrated Orbeez ball, you won’t see any water spilling.
With enough time to go through this process, Orbeez can grow up to a diameter of 14mm, but some water bead variants can reach up to 57mm in diameter, which is almost the size of a tennis ball!
Who invented Orbeez?
Water beads or water crystal gels aren’t new. They were first invented in the early 1960s as a means to retain more water in the soil for plants longer. They have many uses outside of play, here are some of the common ones:
- They supply water to small animals (like crickets!)
- They help retain more water in the soil for plants.
- They can replace the soil in potted indoor plants and can be used to fill flower vases.
- They can be used as ammunition for toy guns.
- They’re used as colorful decorations for artificial snow.
- They’re used in the form of an absorbent gel for disposable diapers and sanitary napkins.
- They can also be used in large amounts to control and contain flooding.
The creators of the brand name Orbeez were Ron Brawer and Sharon Cohen who named their company after their oldest daughter, Maya. When they saw their daughter toying with some squishy polymer orbs sitting in a vase, that’s when the idea for Orbeez came.
Their company, Maya Toys, started developing Orbeez in their family’s garage in 2009. Luckily, Brawer already had some connections after years of working within the toy industry, so it wasn’t difficult to get in touch with the right people. Because of that, they were able to get a few products on shelves in Target stores and Toys R Us.
Orbeez, The One and Only, 75,000 Non-Toxic Rainbow Water Beads, Sensory Toy for Kids Aged 5 and up
And after airing commercials in Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network, their sales grew from $5 million to nearly $100 million dollars in 2012. Even now, Orbeez remains popular with kids, parents, young adults, and a lot of YouTubers!
How long does it take for Orbeez to grow?
It takes at least 4 hours for an Orbeez bead to absorb enough water to grow into a nice, squishy orb. To reach their maximum size, make sure to soak them in pure, distilled water. If you soak the beads overnight, they can grow even bigger!
What’s cool is that even if you crush or cut the hydrated orbs, they won’t spill any water. That’s because the polymer absorbs the water by merging with it, so through that process, the water becomes part of the orb itself. Fascinating, isn’t it?
You can also shrink the Orbeez back to its original size if you leave them in an open container for 24-48 hours. To quicken the process, you can also leave them out in the sun to dry. When you’re ready to play with them again, you can soak them in water once more and they’ll regrow just like before.
If you want to reuse your Orbeez for play and make them last longer, here are some tips:
- Always wash your hands before and after playing with Orbeez.
- Wash your Orbeez with soap before and after playing.
- Store your Orbeez in a sealed, airtight container to retain their full size.
- Keep them in the refrigerator for maximum freshness.
- Add a pinch of salt to the water before submerging the Orbeez beads.
Remember: If your Orbeez starts to smell or grow mold, it’s time to throw them away and get some new ones.
Are Orbeez toxic?
Orbeez balls are non-toxic and non-poisonous. The balls won’t stick together inside your digestive tract and won’t be absorbed by your body. If ingested, the beads can only grow up to 7mm inside the intestines, which would allow them to pass normally.
Orbeez may look yummy and tempting to eat but they are certainly not edible! They are relatively safe if your child accidentally swallows one. It will pass through their digestive system without any problems.
However, if a large amount of Orbeez is swallowed, immediate medical attention is a must. Hydrated Orbeez balls can also become a choking hazard when eaten or chewed. An Orbeez bead can also get lodged inside a child’s ear or nose so make sure to always supervise your children when playing.
Although Orbeez are not toxic, they can still pose a few hazards so ensure safety when playing with them.
How do you make Orbeez balls?
After buying a pack of Orbeez, you can grow them by pouring the tiny, dry beads into a bowl and filling it with 1 cup of warm, purified water for every 100 Orbeez. So if you have 1,000 Orbeez beads, you need to soak them in 10 cups of warm water. Soak them for at least 4 hours and they should be ready for playing!
If you want your Orbeez to grow bigger, you can soak them overnight. Just make sure to keep refilling the bowl or container of Orbeez with water so they remain submerged. You may also need to replace the container with a bigger one if they start to overflow when they expand.
You’ll know your Orbeez are ready when they look like perfect spheres roughly the size of marbles (or bigger.) Strain the Orbeez to remove the excess water and enjoy!
Can I make Orbeez at home?
You can certainly make something similar to Orbeez at home. If you want the experience of having these squishy orbs as a fun playtime snack, try using tapioca pearls. They’re not only delicious but also much quicker to make.
You can enlarge tapioca pearls the same way you do with Orbeez but instead of soaking them for 4 hours, you boil them in water for just 20 minutes.
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There’s also a recipe online using gelatin, vinegar, water, and chilled oil. It’s commonly used in molecular gastronomy, which is like a more scientific way of making food. And you can easily replicate it!
Simply dissolve 5 packets of gelatin in 1 cup of hot water. Add vinegar. Then, microwave and stir the mixture until everything is completely dissolved. Add food coloring, and just wait for it to cool.
After it has cooled, you can then transfer the mixture to an empty squeeze bottle. Squeeze and drop little globs of the mixture into the chilled (but not frozen) oil. What you’ll get is something that looks and feels like Orbeez, but much smaller, like little jelly spheres.
The recipe uses the fact that water and oil don’t mix. So the water-based droplets, that were made from the gelatin-water-vinegar mixture, created colloid spheres when they fell into the chilled oil.
Retrieve the jelly spheres from the oil with a strainer and rinse with water. And there you have it, an alternate version of Orbeez you can try at home!
What can you do with Orbeez?
A better question would be what can’t you do with these crazy orbs? Here are some of the many ways you can have fun at home with Orbeez:
- Create a sensory bin filled with Orbeez. Add funnels, cups, and scoops for your child to play with and explore.
- Create a sensory obstacle course using multiple bins. It might get slippery though!
- Make a DIY Orbeez stress ball by putting hydrated Orbeez inside a balloon.
- Freeze your Orbeez and smash them!
- Warm your Orbeez up and dip your toes in them for a therapeutic experience.
- Add your favorite essential oil to the water before submerging your Orbeez.
- Try filling a water bottle with water beads one by one. (This is quite challenging – these things are slippery!)
- Practice fine motor skills by balancing Orbeez on golf tees.
- Try placing Orbeez inside cookie cutters.
- Fill a kiddie pool or bathtub with Orbeez and try swimming in them.
- Make an air freshener by adding your favorite essential oil into a jar full of hydrated Orbeez.
- Add shaving cream to your container of Orbeez for an interesting sensory experience.
- Add a LED light inside a jar full of Orbeez to make a unique lamp.
- Create jelly art in glass jars using different colored Orbeez.
- Use Orbeez beads as ammunition for your toy guns instead of plastic pellets.
How do you use Orbeez balls with plants?
Since water beads were originally created for agricultural purposes, specifically to retain water and release them in the soil slowly, you can definitely reuse Orbeez in your garden or flower bed. You can even fill your vase with Orbeez to keep them fresh and hydrated.
Simply mix Orbeez in with the soil in your garden or replace the soil in your indoor plants with them. They’re non-toxic so they won’t affect your plants’ health, and they’re 100% biodegradable so they will eventually decompose.
Where can you buy Orbeez balls?
Most toy stores, craft stores, and some garden stores will have water beads or Orbeez balls in stock. You can also order Orbeez on Amazon and other general online stores that have them in stock.
How much do Orbeez balls cost?
It depends on what type, what amount, and where you’re buying your Orbeez, but they’re relatively inexpensive. If you’re looking to buy a small pack of 1,000 Orbeez from the Maya Toys website, then it might cost around $5.99, but if you want larger, multi-colored orbs, then a pack of 2,000 Orbeez will cost around $19.99.
A costlier option would be to buy a specially-designed Orbeez toy that utilizes its soft, squishy texture to provide a relaxing, therapeutic effect. One example of this is the Orbeez Ultimate Soothing Foot Spa which features a foot spa basin, and a waterfall attachment that cascades warm Orbeez gently onto your feet. How’s that for relaxing?
Overall, you can expect to pay anywhere from $5 to $39 for Orbeez depending on size, quantity, and special features like crushing materials for creating Orbeez art, light effects and specialized lamps, fun tools that let you squish, smash or cut them, as well as other unique setups that maximize everything this flexible, little orb has to offer.
How can you dissolve Orbeez balls?
Accidents happen and sometimes you may need to dissolve Orbeez balls in case they fall down the drain and clog your pipes. You can use a mixture of vinegar and baking soda to dissolve the Orbeez layer by layer, which means you may need to repeat the process a few times.
Pouring salt can also help draw the water out, significantly reducing its size. Alcohol can also have the same effect. According to the website, applying rubbing alcohol can reduce Orbeez size by 25%.
Remember to be patient and know when it’s time to call a professional plumbing service to help unclog your drain. Leaving Orbeez stuck in your pipes can potentially cause it to burst, so be careful!
Conclusion
I hope this answers all of your questions about these fun, little orbs! One of my favorite ways to play with them is by filling a clear balloon with lots of Orbeez and using it as a colorful, stress ball. The orb-filled balloon feels extremely satisfying to squeeze and helps me unwind after a long day.
No matter how great Orbeez are, remember to practice safety when using them. Don’t allow them near children without supervision, and always cover the drain if you plan to use them in the bathtub or sink. And most importantly, never ever flush them in the toilet if you don’t want an irreversible mess!
Whether you’re thinking of what to get your kids for a gift or you want to get Orbeez for yourself to use as a stress buster, these delightful water beads may be just what you need. Go and have some mindless, sensory fun with these crazy, magical orbs.
