Stacy Ratel and her children love bubbles. Really love bubbles.
On lazy summer days, Stacy and her two children are constantly moving from activity to activity. When the weather is just right – muggy, just before a rain with little to no sun – she brings out the bubble solution.
The Ratels are serious about their bubbles. They don’t make small, round, boring bubbles. They make giant, kid-eating bubbles. The kind that have a life of their own as they bobble and bounce around in the air before popping and spraying tiny soap droplets everywhere.
Making the bubbles is a family affair. Her oldest, Mark, helps to make the bubble solution to practice measuring and mixing – building a great math skill for later down the road.
Her youngest, Emily, is a Science Bubble Investigator – SBI. Emily discovers new techniques and ways to catch a bubble and not pop it. Soapy hands protect the bubble from dirt and oil and prolong its life.
Everyone knows I love bubbles. But then again, who doesn’t love blowing and popping bubbles?
For those who love bubbles, a new exhibit at the Denver Children’s Museum is for you. The hands-on Bubbles Playscape is for guests of all ages. Even parents can’t help but get their hands soapy along with their kids.
Play with bubbles and water vapor, pop vapor-filled bubbles falling from the ceiling, create enormous bubbles and become encased inside a bubble.
I visited the Children’s Museum this week for a special preview of the exhibit, which was four years in the making. Curators at the museum want to encourage children to experiment with science and decided there wasn’t a better way to engage visitors than with bubbles.
Bubbles are magical and captivating. Who doesn’t like playing with bubbles? The key is the perfect bubble solution. Combining water and dish soap is good, but not perfect. Some people think glycerin and water works well. It’s still not perfect. If you are a serious bubblologist or bubble connoisseur, this recipe is for you. With this recipe, a secret and some imagination you will make big bubbles, bubbles inside bubbles and bouncing bubbles. Click here for the bubble recipe >
Giant soap bubbles seem to be sweeping through schools everywhere these days, and our friends at Henny Penny Preschool recently sent us an update with some great shots of their kids in action. Amy and Craig Dolley are always looking for unique ideas to get their students excited about science and when they saw our giant soap bubbles they knew the activity would be a hit. From the look of this photo, I think they were right!
I first met Stacy Ratel in New York during our 2008 Hands-on Science Boot Camp tour. Stacy is a highly-motivated teacher who will go to great lengths to create unforgettable learning experiences for her students. Now I know why Stacy was so interested in ways to make giant bubbles. The classic bubble solution recipe called for two tablespoons of Dawn dish soap, 8 ounces of distilled water and a tablespoon of high quality glycerin. What the recipe never tells you is to mix the contents and then wait for 24 hours – even bubble solution needs time to age. Stacy sent us these photos to show you what happens when the make the perfect batch of bubble solution.
Stacy Ratel and her children love bubbles. Really love bubbles.
