Bubbles are a great outdoor kids activity, but they soon tire of blowing them the traditional old way. What about standing inside a giant bubble, turning bubbles into lasting works of art, or making sparkling chains of thousands of bubbles – we show you how, plus our bubble mixture recipe for making giant bubbles!

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Caution: When making bubbles or bubble solution, make sure everyone in the area has protective eyewear.  Also ensure that no one has allergies to the soap and that they do not swallow or ingest any of it, as chemicals and soaps can be deadly.

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Making Bubble Mixture for Big Bubbles

Many of these activities require large amounts of bubble solution, and if you choose to buy it in stores, it can get expensive quickly. To save some money, here is an easy recipe to make your own bubble solution.

Method:

1. In an appropriately sized container, mix 5 parts water to 1 parts washing-up liquid and 1/2 part corn syrup/liquid glucose/golden syrup.
2. Make sure to keep this mixture covered up when not in use.
3. If you let it sit overnight it will be better than if you use it right away.

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Fun Bubble Ideas

#1. Stand inside a bubble

One of the most basic bubble activities is seeing who can blow the biggest bubble. But have you ever made a bubble so huge it could fit a person inside of it?  On a day with no wind and with an adult supervising, you and you friends may be able to make huge bubbles that will completely cover you.

Just take note that since people will literally be inside of a bubble, they might get splashed and sticky when it pops.  Therefore everyone should wear protective eyewear and bring changes of clothes or kids bath robes to change into so they won’t bring the sticky solution into the house!

Method:

1. Pour enough bubble solution into a kiddie pool to cover the inside in at least an inch of liquid (if you keep it clean, you can scoop it out to save for later when you are done).
2. Then place a clean hula hoop in the pool and carefully step into the middle of the hoop.  Avoid splashing as much as you can, as any foam will make the bubbles less effective.
3.  Have two friends grab either side of the hula hoop by the outside edges.  If they lift it up at the same time, it should make a bubble that stretches as high as they can reach.

Once someone is in the bubble, you can see who can stay inside the longest without it popping or try to do tricks, like touch your toes without bursting the bubble.  Another fun thing to do is to bring a disposable camera inside to take some one of a kind photos.

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#2. Bubble Snake Maker

One bubble is fun, but a whole snake of bubbles is incredible!  Bubble snakes may let you make huge chains of hundreds or thousands of bubbles.

You will need the following:

• A plastic soda or water bottle
• At least one strong rubber band
• A dish rag
• Scissors
• Bubble solution

Method :

1. Ask an adult to help you cut the plastic bottle in half.
2. Place the dish rag over the opening that was just cut out.
3. Slide the rubber band over the rag and opening so the rag is secured.
4. Dip the rag into the bubble solution and let it soak it up for a few seconds.
5. If you remove the whole device from the solution, then blow slowly and steadily through the bottle’s mouthpiece, a thick winding bubble snake should come writhing out.

You can challenge your friends to see who can make the longest bubble snake, wear the chain like a boa, try to write your name with it, or even put the snakes on a plate and then try freezing them.

#3. Bubble Painting

The sad thing about bubbles is that they have a short life before they burst.  With bubble painting, you can turn temporary bubbles into ever lasting pieces of art.

Method : 

1. Line an area with a thick covering of newspaper, or just go outside.
2. Put some bubble solution into a container, and then add a few drops of tempera paint to the liquid and stir.
3. Stop adding paint as soon as the solution takes on the appropriate color – if you add too much, then the solution won’t work.
4. Use a turkey baster/dropper to blow air into the solution, making it froth up with bubbles.(Older kids could use a straw, once you know they won’t ingest the solution)
5. Gently lower some white construction paper or a poster board onto the bubbles.  After you let it dry, you should have an awesome bubble patterned print left on the paper or board.

While this is great for backgrounds or as a standalone painting, you can also create amazing scenes with bubble painting.

For example, try drawing a picture of a tree without leaves on the poster board before pressing it on the bubble.  Then, press the top of the tree onto a bowl full of green bubbles to create an amazing leafy texture. Or use bubbles with blue paint to create a sprawling blue sky.

You can also buy a pack of cheap plastic shot glasses and put the coloured solution in each of them. Then arrange them into whatever shape or words you like and press the paper down to get detailed bubble prints of the arrangement.

Article content written by Ryan, who enjoys doing bubble activities with his cousin, hiking, and shopping at www.funkidspajamas.com

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Have you tried our bubble mixture recipe for giant bubbles? Leave a comment below and let us know – we’d love to hear from you!