Before you begin any recipe, make sure you have all the ingredients, a plastic bowl and spoon to mix with (we recommend a dedicated bowl and spoon for this!) You'll also need a wet rag for any spills and a few small plastic airtight containers to store your slime in. You can also store slime in sandwich bags. If this is your first time making slime, we recommend using the Basic Slime recipe. If you're looking to branch out, try making Fluffy Slime or Clear Slime. Or visit the Recipes page for more ideas.
Many of the recipes mention an activator. This can be a couple of pinches of baking soda added to contact lens solution/saline solution or eye drops, OR one cup of warm water with one teaspoon of Borax powder. You can also use liquid starch or laundry detergent, such as Tide. (Not all brands of laundry detergent work, so make sure yours is one mentioned in the recipe or video for the type of slime you plan to make.)
The many names for slime
These are some other names slime is known by in English. Some names are used in different locales, while others refer to slightly different substances. I don't know that there will ever be universal definitions for any of these, as even a basic slime recipe has many variations, but the list may help when searching for information on slime.