Bubbles are for everybody - dog included!

Today's after-school activity on this sunny but windy and cold winter day is bubbles! The temperature is too high for bubbles to freeze (bummer?) but with the wind - bubbles are a fun reason to get outside and brave the cold!

Since running out to the store to pick up bubble solution in these covid-times is not an option - we made our own!

Bubbles occur in nature - in all sorts of ways! But these bubbles are fleeting and hard to reproduce.

Find bubbles at the bottoms of waterfalls, coming from snails, on trees, lava flows, where else?






Bubbles fascinated the ancient Sumerians who first invented soap by combining ash from plants, goat fat and water. It can be assumed that bubbles entertained people the world over, but they made a strong appearance in 17th century art.
Claudine Stella. Les Bouteilles de Savon, 1657. Bibliothèque Municipale de Lyon
Frans von Mieris. A boy at the window with rainbow bubbles, 1663

Bubbles have also fascinated scientists for ages:
  • Leonardo da Vinci (1452 – 1519) considered surface tension of liquids when studying bubbles
  • Sir Issac Newton studied the thickness of bubbles and wondered at their colors
They inspired architecture:
Photo: Getty Images/Zhang Peng This is not Chicago's bean - it is an oil drop in Karamay, China
Roof of Munich's Olympic Stadium. Photo: pixabay.com/RitaE



Now - the bubble recipes!
We tried this one from diynetwork:

  • 2 cups hot water
  • 1/4 cup dish soap
  • 1 (.25 oz)  packet gelatin
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil



And this one from A Little Pinch of Perfect:

    1. 4 T. Water
    2. 2 T. Sugar
    3. 1 T Dish Soap









Both of these recipes were GREAT!



For our bubble wands we used pipe cleaners. We twisted them into shape and once they were wet with the bubble solution, they worked perfectly! Bonus - once they dry, they go right back into the box of crafts!




Some Science: 
Bubbles are air covered with soap. The soap wants to be able to hold the air in as little "surface area" as possible. This is always the shape of a sphere. Even though you can make bubbles in many different shapes - once you close the bubble, it will go to the shape of a sphere!  Interesting - right? Give it a try!

Want to make some high flying bubbles? Blow them when the air is cold! The warm air that you fill the bubble with is warmed and this lighter than the cold air and so it will go up - up - up and away!

Bubbles also like friends! They want to combine together but the reason is because they want to reduce surface area and by sharing a bubble wall - they do that!

Our FUN!



More resources: