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Overview: In the poem BUBBLES, it is mentioned that if you look closely you will see the the colors of the rainbow on bubbles. In this activity, children investigate bubbles and how to make them.
Booklink: April, Bubbles, Chocolate, An ABC of Poetry by Lee Bennet Hopkins, Simon and Schusters Books for Young Readers, 1994. ISBN 0-671-75911-6
Science Activity Link: With adult supervision, groups of children will work together to make bubble brew. After testing the brew with a regular circle-shaped wand, each group will design their own bubble wand. They will be guided to make bubble pipes so they can observe a bubble up close.
Objective: Children will test bubble brews, design wands, and make, observe, and investigate the properties of bubbles.
Science Processes and Content: Processes-Observing, predicting, inferring, classifying, communicating, collecting and recording data, and investigating. Content-Children will design, construct, and redesign their own bubble wands, observe the properties of bubbles, and compare bubbles made from different solutions. Cohesion and the spectrum of colors in light.
National Science Education Standards: Unifying Concepts and Processes, (1) Science as Inquiry, (2) Physical Science, (5) Science and Technology, (7) History and Nature of Science
Materials: For each group of 4 students: 4 plastic smocks, 4 plastic goggles, 4 personal plastic straws, 8 6-inch plastic coated wires, 4 small paper cups each with a hole one inch from the bottom of the cup made slightly smaller in circumference than plastic straw, 4 clear plastic cups, and 4 shallow bowls, plus 2 identical pails, and 1 whisk, 1 egg beater, 1 spatula, 1 spoon, 1 large tub with water, 1 bottle of dish soap (Dawn works best) or Tide regular powder detergent, 1 bottle glycerin or Karo Light Syrup, and 10 hibiscus rosinensis leaves.
Procedure:
1. Children will make their bubble brew. Depending on availability of materials above or if you want each group to have a different bubble recipe each, choose from the following:
A. Original Bubble: Mix 1 part liquid dish soap, 1 part glycerin (or Light Karo syrup), 20 parts water. Mix all ingredients and allow to stand overnight.
B. Dawn Delight: Mix liquid dish soap (Dawn works best) with water until soapy. The more soap, the more stable the bubbles.
C. Bubble Brew: Mix 1 gallon water with 2/3 cup Dawn dishwashing liquid and 1 tablespoon glycerin.
D. Evergreen Bubble Brew: Mix 1 gallon water with Tide regular powder detergent. Add 10 large hibiscus rosinensis leaves. Put enough powder detergent in water to make it soapy. Tear hibiscus rosinensis leaves into small pieces and add to mixture. Let stand overnight.
E. Bubbles A-Plenty: For making one big batch of bubble brew, add 3 gallons of water, 2 bottles of liquid detergent, plus half a bottle of glycerin. Mix all ingredients in a large tub and then divide the bubble solution among 8 pails, one for each group of 4 children.
2. Bubble Wands: Shape plastic coated wires into circle wands, one for each child.
PART I: COMPARING PLAIN AND SOAPY WATER
Use two pails, A and B. Partially fill pail A with soapy water. Partially fill an identical pail B with plain water. Do this hours before the activity so children won't see bubbles in the bubble mixture. Have the children put on their smocks and go outside where pails A and B are already place for each team to explore. Ask one child in each team to pick up the whisk and whisk the liquid in Pail A. Observe and remove the whisk. Ask another to use the egg beater. Observe and remove egg beater. Do the same for spatula and spoon. Ask each one to blow their respective straws into pail A. Remind them of the proper way to blow...NOT DRINK. Lead the children to note that bubbles have a tendency to stick together, cohesion. Invite the children to model the principles of cohesion. Have a group of children be bubbles. Have them lock arms, then try to move around. It should be easy to conclude that where one goes, the other follows. Now have the same children do exactly the same procedures in Pail B. Pose questions that lead to comparisons between the contents of pails A and B. List characteristics on a big chart paper. Now have the children return the materials to your distribution stations.
PART II: BLOWING BUBBLES
Inform the children that they are going to make bubble brews. After choosing and making their brew from recipes described earlier, establish ground rules for safety. Have the children wear plastic smocks and goggles to protect eyes in case bubbles pop in face. Distribute one pail of bubble solution to each team. Distribute plastic coated wands. Each child should have his/her personal bubble solution in a clear platic cup. Then have them dip the wand in and blow bubbles. Or they can let the wind do the job and just wave the wands. Pose questions such as: "Tell me what you see when you blow/shake the wands. Where do you think the bubbles went? What's inside the bubbles? What makes them pop?" Have them examine the bubble skin. Have them pop bubbles with their hands and examine the residue. Suggest that they try to push bubbles out of shape without popping them. This will work if children dip their hands into the bubble mix until they are covered with film before touching the bubbles. The film on the wand and the film on the hand mix and create a continuous film. Have the children experiment with dry hands, also, and observe and describe the differences they experience. Allow about 10 to 15 minutes for this exploration. Bring the class together and ask them to describe the bubbles. When you have listed several observations, including the shape of bubbles, pass out straight plastic-coated wires. Ask the children to make different shaped wands. Pass a folded paper to each one and have them draw (or trace) their bubble wand on the left fold. On the right fold, have them draw a horizontal line across to divide the fold into two parts. Then ask them to look at their wand and predict what shape the bubble will be coming from their wand. Have them draw that on the top part of the right fold. Ask the children go outside and blow bubbles using their newly devised wand. Allow 5 minutes for this exploration. Go back inside and have them draw the actual shape on the bottom part of the right fold. Depending on your preference and availability of materials, pass out unusual items for making bubbles e.g. a strainer, plastic rings from six-packs , pipe cleaners bent into different shapes, a wooden bead, a funnel, the circular end of a blunt scissors, berry baskets, fly swatters, potato chip tube containers. etc.
PART III: THE BUBBLE-RAINBOW CONNNECTION.
Show wordless book Magic Paint, illustrated by Robin Spowart. Have children tell their own story. Go outside or to a bubble blowing area. Pass a bubble solution in a shallow bowl to each team. Have the teams gather the following materials for each member: 1 plastic straw and 1 small paper cup with hole. Help each child poke the straw through the hole in the cup. Ask the children to turn his/her cup upside down, and dip it in the bowl of Bubble Brew, and then turn it right-side up. What does he see? Have the child gently blow through the straw. What happens? Discuss why. Allow plenty of time for free exploration, encouraging children to try blowing hard, soft, and then not at all. Then have each child blow a bubble with his/her back to the sunlight. Then have them move the bubble so the sunlight passes through it. Ask the children to describe their observations. Tell the children that the colors appear because the light from the sun is being broken up into its individual colors and that the bubble lets us see those colors. Ask if children have ever seen a rainbow. Have them identify and describe the colors--red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.
PART IV: BUBBLE ART
For a bubbly bulletin board background for your water and sea life units or for use as greeting cards or bookmarks or book covers , you will need a cup of bubble brew. Add food coloring in a cup. Lay out the paper and blow the bubbles on it. Let the bubbles pop and notice the beautiful designs they leave.
Safety: Work outside, wearing protective goggles and plastic smocks. As soon as exploration is over, use a water-vinegar solution to mop over places where bubbles landed. Inform surrounding classes to be careful of slippery floors/hallways/walks. Children should not drink the soap solutions.
Related Books:
Bubbles by Bernie Zubrowski, Little, Brown & Company, 1974. ISBN 0-316-98881-2-pbk
Bubble, Bubbles Everywhere by Dwight Kuhn, Newbridge Educational Publishing, 1994. ISBN 1-56784-041-8
Bubble Bubble by Mercer Mayer, Troll, 1973. ISBN 1-879920-03-04
Soap Science by J.L.Bell, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1995. ISBN 0-201-62451-6
Soap Makes Bubbles by Barbara Taylor, Kingfisher, New York, 1994. ISBN 1-85697-995-4
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