One day I got an email from Kiwico.com about DIY science experiments. I saw directions on how to make giant bubbles. I could not wait to show my son, Cory, the bubble activity. Once he saw it, he was excited to get started.
We had all the materials in our home except one item, push pins. We immediately went to the store and purchased the push pins and started to build the wand for the giant bubbles.
If you do this activity once with your child, it will not be your last. So far, we have done the activity three times. The first time, Cory was excited at how big the bubbles were. However, we wanted them to be bigger. So like scientists, we tested and adjusted our approach. The second time was even better than the first.
So let’s get started with how to do this fun activity.
Below is a video of how it is done. This video comes from my son’s YouTube Channel, Corban’s Fun Learning Adventures. Please like and subscribe for weekly fun learning activities. There are also written directions below for Giant Bubbles.
Materials:
- Dowel (2)
- Pushpin (2)
- Yarn
- Scissors
- Washer
- Soap (dish/liquid)
- Warm Water
- Large Container
- Glycerin (or corn syrup) – optional
Directions:
- Gather materials to make the giant bubble wand and bubble solution.
- Start creating the giant bubble wand by sticking a pushpin into the end of each dowel. Don’t push it in all the way but keep the pin about a 1/8-inch from the dowel.
- Cut a piece of yarn about 4 feet long.
- Tie one end of the yarn to the exposed metal part of the push pin.
- Push the pin into the dowel to hold the knot
- Thread the yarn through the washer.
- Tie the other end of the yarn around the push pin on the second dowel.
- Push the pin in to hold the knot.
- Cut a shorter piece of yarn that’s about 18 inches long.
- Tie the ends to the longer yarn a few inches away from the dowels.
- This should create a triangular shape.
- Now it is time to make the bubble solution.
- Mix 1 part dish soap, 4 parts warm water, add a teaspoon of glycerin, and stir well.
- Using the dowels, dunk the yarn and washer into the solution.
- Lift up the dowel and hold it out so the triangular shape opens up.
- Walk the dowel around to see the giant bubble take form.
- We liked these bubbles but wanted them bigger.
- Therefore, we made some adjustments.
- We made the yarn longer by cutting it 6 feet instead of 4 feet.
- My husband provided us with a bigger and heavier washer.
- The shorter piece of yarn was cut to 30 inches instead of 18 inches.
- We used Gazillion Bubbles because we did not have time to make our own bubble solution.
- We also learned that bigger bubbles will pop MORE often in hot and dry weather. This weather makes the water in the bubble evaporate too quickly which causes the bubbles to pop.
- In the picture below, it was cloudy and rainy outside.
- The result was we made bigger and better bubbles.
Try this activity and have fun!
Don’t forget to check our two books, Teach your Toddler to Read Through Play and Fun and Easy Ways to Teach your Toddler to Write.
