Giant bubbles

The long weekend is finally here! I am sure many of you will be outside enjoying all of the amazing weather has to offer us here in southern Alberta. A great way to enjoy the day is to make a GIANT container full of bubbles and play all day long. One may think that bubbles are quite easy to make, but in reality there are a few secrets I am going to let you in on this week. Let’s get started!

*Remember to ask an adult before you do this experiment.

Materials

- children’s swimming pool - a couple of hoola hoops - blue liquid dishwashing detergent (I prefer the blue Ultra Joy) - water - large pail - glycerine or corn syrup - large wooden spoon - large container for measuring

- science helper

Procedure

Find a nice flat area to blow your bubbles on outside. In the shade is even better as the bubbles last longer there!

Lay the swimming pool on the ground.

Time to make the bubble mixture!

Fill the pool with 10 L of water. Ideally distilled but normal tap water will work well too.

Slowly add 1 litre of blue dish soap.

Add 125 mL of glycerine or 250 mL of corn syrup. Note: if you use corn syrup, it often attracts bees. Glycerin can be found by asking the local pharmacist.

Take a spoon and gently mix together. Be very gentle as you do not want to make bubbles just by mixing this all together. You want to save that for later!

Place the hula hoop into the pool.

Step into the pool and hula hoop.

Have the science volunteer pull the hula hoop over your head.

Try to enclose yourself in an entire bubble!

Be patient, I know you can do it.

Are bubbles really science?

Absolutely! Bubbles are some of the best ways to learn about science. You get to have fun while learning too. The secret to a fabulous bubble is surface tension. Surface tension is an invisible bond that holds the hydrogen and oxygen atoms together in water. When water molecules are close to one another, they “stick together” or create this surface tension. Surface tension is very important when it comes to the bubbles. Surface tension of water just by itself is too strong. Try it out – can you blow a bubble with just water? It won’t work. This secret bubble recipe you just made is the key to breaking this surface tension. The secret ingredient is the blue dishwashing detergent that allows the surface tension of the water to relax, making it stretchy, allowing you to form giant bubbles swallowing you up in the kiddie pool!