BUBBLE FUN AND LEARNING
Submitted by Connie Miller, a wonderfully artistic teacher and mom.
Additional Ideas contributed by Sharilyn Jones, a homeschooler from Phoenix, AZ.
Objectives:
- Learn about the wind, the colors in the sky being reflected onto the bubbles.
- Sharpen memory skills.
- Learn color mixing.
- Sharpen observation skills
What you Need:
- 8 - 4oz. bottles of bubble solution {I use the store bought so they have a wand with it for blowing bubbles}
To make your own bubble solution, visit The Bubblesphere or The Exploratorium.
- food coloring
- white paper
- a small mirror
- tape & paper towels
What You Do:
Preparation:
- Add red food coloring to the 1st of the bottles of bubble solution, add blue to the 2nd, green to the 3rd and yellow to the 4th. The 5th will remain clear.
Lesson Step 1:
Blowing Bubbles into the Air.
- Ask the kids if they know what wind is.
- Then ask if they can see & feel the wind.
- Does the wind blow all the time?
- Have the kids blow bubbles from bottle
- Discuss what colors the bubbles are. Note: when the bubbles swirl around & around, point this out. Tell them that when winds swirl around very fast, it's a tornado. Ask them what new color they saw or what color showed up the brightest . Repeat this with each of the other bottles. Then let them blow bubbles from bottle 5
- Discuss if they saw any new colors from bottle 5,
- Were colors lighter or darker?
- Did adding food coloring such as red make the bubbles look more red?
- What about the other bottles?
- Did they see the wind blow the bubbles?
- Did it blow the bubbles fast, slow or both?
- Was there a pattern to the wind?
Lesson Step 2:
Blowing Bubbles onto Paper to make Art.
- Let the kids express their view of their creation at this time & share it with others.
- Right after each child uses bottle #5, ask them if any color appeared.
Lesson Step 3:
Repeating Step 1 with Other Colors orange,
purple, brown & black bubble solution.
Lesson Step 4:
Repeating step 2 with the colors of step 3.
- Discuss the difference between the results of steps 2 & 4,
- How does their artwork look?
- How do they think it happened?
- How do they feel about the artwork?
- This really works best if this lesson is done in all these
steps.
Suggested Reading Material
Apples, Bubbles, and Crystals : Your Science ABCs
by Andrea T. Bennett, James H. Kessler, Melody Sarecky
The authors combine reading and rhyming with simple science activities to create a resource that will delight all.
Beakman & Jax's Bubble Book : Plus Everything You Need to Make a Real Square Bubbles!
by Jok Church
In a combination book and kit, the star of Beakman's World reveals the secrets of producing the elusive square bubble and explores a variety of pertinent science questions along the way.
Additional Ideas:
"While I was reading your fun lesson plan about coloring bubbles. I remembered last spring my children used empty frozen juice can with the lids removed to make awesome bubbles.
Running through the yard with their cans held up high was the most effective." -Sharilyn Jones
