Make a bubble blower

Make some foamy worms with this quick and easy-to-make device.

What you need

● Small bowl and cup

● Washing-up liquid

● Warm water

● Spoon

● Empty 500ml plastic bottle

● Scissors

● Cotton dishcloth (the knitted type)

● Elastic bands

How does it work?

A bubble is much like a balloon. However, instead of stretchy rubber holding air inside, there is a layer of soapy water. The outside and inside surfaces of a bubble consist of soap molecules (two or more atoms joined together). A thin layer of water lies between these two soap walls, sort of like a water sandwich.

The size of a bubble depends on the size of your bubble wand. The bigger the hole in the wand, the bigger your bubble can grow. This is simply because you have more bubble mix with which to make it. In this experiment, the dishcloth has hundreds of small holes so when you blow you create countless tiny bubbles that join together to make foam. The finer the fabric you use, the finer the foam (but it gets more difficult to blow through). If you use the blower with no cloth at all, you’ll get much bigger bubbles.

2 Cut off the bottom of the plastic bottle using scissors. You may need an adult to help you as the edges of the plastic can be sharp.

4 Dunk the dishcloth into the bubble mix, and lift it out. Blow through the bottle top. How long can you make your foamy worm?

1 Make your bubble mix. Add one cup of washing-up liquid and four cups of warm water to the bowl. Mix it well with a spoon and leave to rest.

3 Carefully stretch the dishcloth over the larger end of the bottle and fix it in place with elastic bands. Make sure the cloth is taut.