We’re going to use bubbles for kids engineering. Engineering challenges for bubble wand creation If it fails, it fails and you just start over. Would sandpaper work better than a hanger? Is it better to have a soft or hard surface? Smooth or sharp? If you don’t know where to start, I would suggest looking at a normal bubble wand and think about the purpose of each piece is. If you are making your engineered bubble wands out of other materials I should challenge you to first think about what materials would make a good bubble wand. They happen to magically fit nicely inside of the smaller straws and are easy to bend and connect.
However, if you are using straws and pipe cleaners I would suggest investigating how you can use the pipe cleaners to secure straws in place. I don’t want to give away all of the secrets in bubble wand creation. Let’s use bubbles for kids science! In this activity, kids will turn into engineers as they create different types of bubble wands! That’s why kids love bubbles – they are unique and interesting and seem to rebel against the rules. You can blow bubbles and they go up, or out, or this way or that, but not down in the same way that a fork falls. Kids have a fascination with bubbles for the same reason they love balloons, because they defy their everyday knowledge of physics and forces.įrom six months old, kids learn that you drop something and it falls tot he ground. Why? Because from a very young age we learn that things fall, not float. Click on the link or on the image below.Share on Pinterest Share on Facebook Share on Email Use straws and pipe cleaners in a fun math based building project. MORE FUN SCIENCE ACTIVITIESĭiscover more fun and easy science & STEM activities right here. So bubbles will always form circles no matter the shape of the bubble wand. Water molecules prefer bonding with other water molecules, which is why water gathers in drops instead of just spreading out.Ī sphere is the least amount of surface area for the volume of what is contained inside the sphere (in this case, air). The air tries to push its way out of the bubble, but the liquid in the bubble solution wants to have the least amount of surface area, due to the clinging properties of liquid molecules.
We have you covered… Click to get your free science process pack.ĭid you find that your bubbles always ended up being blown into a sphere shape? Why is that? It’s all due to surface tension.Ī bubble is formed when air gets trapped inside the bubble solution. Looking for easy science process information and free journal page? Invite the kids to experiment with the homemade bubble structures, wands and shapes to explore bubble science. Science with young kids is all about asking questions! Your job is to encourage questions, exploration, and self-discovery! Plan activities that really give kids the opportunity to get hands-on with learning!ĪLSO CHECK OUT: 20 tips for sharing science with kids! Most young kids will say that the bubbles will come out different shapes depending on the bubble wand they use. Will the bubble shapes still come out the same spherical shape or not?Īsk your kids if they think the bubbles will all come out the same every time or if they think they will come out different shapes. If you make your bubble wand shapes 3D, you’ll be able to use them as a structure for making shaped bubbles but… You can either make your shapes 2D or 3D.
You can also hot glue straws together if you don’t want to use pipe cleaners to join the straws. Use your pipe cleaners and straws to form 3D shapes such as a pyramid or cube. Mix your ingredients together in a jar or plastic container and you are ready to use.Ĭan you make and blow 3D shape bubbles? Let’s find out! You can use a pre-made bubble solution or you can make your own homemade bubble solution. Kids always have so many questions and love to think of neat solutions.Ī few quick supplies and you are good to go. I love how simple science can spark curiosity and experimentation. Find more quick and easy STEM projects for kids.Ĭheck out how easy STEM can be with young kids! We have plenty more playful science activities to try with your junior scientists. Kids can take away extremely valuable life lessons from STEM activities. A good STEM activity uses 2 or more pillars of the STEM acronym. What is STEM? STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and math.