Today we took our STEM club outdoors to investigate bubbles and answer the question ‘what bubble mixture produces the longest lasting bubbles?’ First of all we tested out different ratios of water/fairy liquid mixture to see what sort of bubbles were produced. We tried ratios of 10 parts water to 1 part Fairy Liquid and then 6 parts water to 1 part Fairy Liquid. The pupils also had the opportunity to use a range of resources to make their own bubble wands, these included metal and wooden curtain rings, pipe cleaners, wire, straws and string. The pupils worked in two groups and used the results of this investigation to decide what ratio of bubble mixture they wanted to mix for themselves. They also got to add a ‘secret ingredient’ and test whether the bubble were longer lasting with or without this added ingredient. Both groups agreed that it didn’t make the bubbles last longer and that they wanted to add it into their own mixtures. The added ingredient was glycerin.
After the pupils had made, tested and fed back on their own bubble mixtures, they had the opportunity to try and produce some larger bubbles using hula hoops with a Tuff Tray and also wooden sticks fitted with string that could be pulled into a triangular shape.
We were lucky to enjoy the early evening Autumn sunshine in order to carry out our activities and all of the pupils thoroughly enjoyed our STEM Club session.
