Summertime bubbles!

Recently ICP participated in the National Night Out, held on Bainbridge Island at our local intermediate school. It was a hot summer night, and I knew I would need gallons of bubble solution, but no one seems to sell bubble solution in August (except in very small containers). I have preferred using commercial solution because, for whatever reason, it has worked better than homemade, and it sure saves some effort. This time I was going to need to make my own. I opted for the Joy dish detergent/glycerin formula.

If you don't already know this, there is a tremendous amount of science involved with the fun of bubbles. First, did you know dry things kill bubbles? Why is that? So, would they like this hot, sunny, dry day? How was I going to make bubble solution that had the right stuff to actually make bubbles that would work in this environment? I decided to create my own formula, increasing the Joy and glycerin and using distilled water. I even cheated a small bit by adding whatever commercial solution I had on hand to my homemade stuff in the hopes of creating just the right formula. Well, it worked! 

One of the best things about doing bubbles with a crowd is how all ages can get involved and everyone has fun! Little, tiny children find delight in chasing and popping bubbles, and parents and grandparents love giving the wands a try. Older children especially seem to rise to the challenge of creating giant bubbles.

We are becoming known in our community for the school that does bubbles, and I think that is a great thing. it epitomizes how we approach learning at our school: experiment, explore, ask questions, try new things, all the while having fun. POP!