Academy Curricular Exchange
Columbia Education Center
Science

TITLE:  BUBBLES

AUTHOR:  Linda Huff, Whittier Elementary School
Winfield, Kansas

OVERVIEW:  These activities are good in the spring or just
before vacations when attention wans.
Purpose:  In this activity students develop inquiry skills
during fun experiments.

OBJECTIVES:  Students will be able to:
  1.  observe bubble movement, shape, and color.
  2.  observe that warm air rises.

RESOURCES/MATERIALS:
Dictionary
Florist wire
Dishpans, bowls, jars
Solution: 1 cup Joy dishwashing liquid and 8-9cups water
Drawing paper, pencils, crayons
Optional-straws,string, tubes, dowels

ACTIVITIES AND PROCEDURES:
  l.  Is a bubble a "sphere"?  Look up the definition in a
dictionary.  Discuss "sphere" as a class.
  2.  Using florist wire have each child make one end into
any shape except a circle.  What shape will the bubble be?
Gently blow a bubble.  What shape is the bubble?  Students
should observe each other's bubbles.  Younger students may
need to make a chart to reach a conclusion.
  3.  Draw a bubble on a piece of paper.  Be careful to draw
the shape correctly. What colors will you use to color it?
  4.  Discuss temperatures in your lungs and outside where
you blow  bubbles.  You blew warm air into the soapsuds. 
Which direction did the bubbles go?  What conclusion do you
reach?  Warm air rises.

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES:
  A.  Using a straw with one end snipped at an angle and a
baby food jar of suds, allow students to experiment.
  B.  Use different materials to make blowers: a paper towel
tube; 2 straws with one yard of string threaded through them;
a dowel rod with a string attached at one end and sliding on
a ring in the middle.
  C.  When you return to the classroom, use experiences and
drawings to write a creative story.
  D.  Students may want to measure bubbles.

TYING IT ALL TOGETHER:  Most children enjoy blowing bubbles. 
During this activity, children observe, predict, and experiment
with simple materials.  They are actively involved throughout.

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