An immersive slime museum is coming to Charlotte, so I checked it out in Atlanta
Tapping into your inner child is truly an underrated experience, especially when slime is involved.
Over the weekend, I visited Sloomoo Institute’s flagship location in Atlanta to get a sneak peek of what’s to come in Charlotte. The immersive slime experience is slated to open this summer at Metropolitan in Midtown, offering hands-on slime making, ASMR soundscapes and other sensory activities.
My behind-the-scenes look started with a tour of the Sloomoo kitchen, where I was given the rundown on how the various slimes are created and stored. A must-have in any crafts project, Elmer’s Glue was the star of the show and served as the base for every Sloomoo slime texture (there are eight in all).
My tour group, which included three girls and their moms, watched in awe as the glue, activator (borax) and colorful pigment danced around the industrial-grade mixers to form a “non-Newtonian fluid” (yes, we got schooled in science and vocabulary).
A brief history lesson followed; our tour guide explained that slime as we know it was accidentally created by the U.S. military during the Great Depression. What was meant to be a cheap alternative to rubber was later marketed and sold as a children’s toy: Silly Putty.
As we ambled through the kitchen, I picked up on so many scents: fresh bread, cinnamon sugared donut, fresh linen, cheesecake. (Almost) everything smelled good enough to eat.
I was able to explore Sloomoo’s other attractions on my own after the tour. I watched as children and their parents played in the big vats of slime spread out across the experience. And when in Rome — well, you know the rest.
I soon found myself wrist-deep in the gelatinous goo. I was shocked I didn’t lose my drugstore press-ons as I grabbed fistfuls of slime, pulling and stretching it in every direction, then immediately regretting it as it clung to my fingers and palms. It took me a few minutes to get my fingers free before moving on to a doughy, less sticky slime.
Pro tip: Don’t wear white to a slime experience
Later, I stopped by the slime wall and added a few globs to the “ever-evolving art installation.” I then made my way to the slime slingshot to watch others catapult slime balls at their loved ones.
Next it was time to visit the slime waterfalls. I refused to get my white button-down covered in slime, so I instead looked on as a mom and her kids got drenched in Nickelodeon-esque fashion.
I capped off my visit at Sloomoo’s DIY slime bar. I chose my favorite of the available slime textures, then sniffed my way across the wall of nearly two dozen scents to add to my creation. Next, I stopped by the color wall to add powered pigment: you can choose from solid pinks, purples blues and greens or explore the iridescent colors best suited for clear slimes.
Lastly, I picked up a few charms on my way out (you’re allowed three per slime).
In the end, I walked away with two custom creations: A purple “butter” slime scented with lavender and an oozy, “snow fizz” slime that’s perfectly pink and smells of gummy bears.
My inner child is obsessed with them both — and yours will be, too.
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This story was originally published March 5, 2026 at 6:00 AM.