bubble blown by a red plastic wand
Activity

Bubble Experiment

A science experiment that explores which bubbles last the longest.

Perkins School for the Blind Secondary school student Paige Nason shares her science fair project.


The reason why I picked this bubble experiment is because it looked interesting and fun. I thought it might be cool to see which bubbles would be better for my nieces and nephews to play with and you can never be too old to play with bubbles.

When people come to my table (at the science fair) I want them to be able to see the difference between the bubble solutions and which solution worked the best. Then maybe they can go home and make bubbles for themselves or their children.

When people come to my table they can blow bubbles to see which ones last the longest. To make it accessible for someone who’s visually impaired or blind I will have plastic balls or marbles that would look and feel like a bubble. I will also make bubbles on the PIAF paper. ( paper that creates raised line tactile images)

paige blowing bubbles
Student blowing bubbles at Science Fair

Here are some vocabulary words that will help you understand my project.

Materials

Preparation

In preparation to carry out this experiment,  I asked a  Scientific question:

“Which bubbles work better: the bubbles you buy in the store or bubbles you make with glycerin?”

And made a Hypothesis:

My hypothesis is that the glycerin solution will make better bubbles than the store bought solution.

  1. Gather the equipment on to work tray.
  2. In a medium size bucket:
  1. Mix it together with the stirring rod.
  2. Store the bubbles in mason jar.
  3. Have fun blowing bubbles!!!
student demonstrating bubble blowing
Student demonstrating bubble blowing

Data:

Store bought bubble solution

Bubble solution made with 15 ml glycerin

Bubble solution made with 100 ml glycerin

Conclusion:

Adding more glycerin it made a bigger diameter and the bubbles lasted longer.

I added 100ml of glycerin and the bubbles were bigger and lasted longer.  They felt stronger. The bubbles even bounced. Originally I added 15ml of glycerin and the bubbles were small and popped really quick. I experimented with a variety of ways to blow bubbles. To blow bubbles I used bendy straws, pipettes, small funnels, and big funnels.

NGSS Standards:

By Kate Fraser

Collage of bubbles activity

Return to Accessible Science main page.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE
outline image of special eye protection glasses worn when watching a solar eclipse.
Activity

Eclipse Soundscapes and low vision

Flaring sun with a black moon moving in front of the sun in a dark sky.
Article

Solar eclipse and Eclipse Soundscapes app

Clay shapes modeling the phases of the moon
Activity

Phases of the Moon Using Clay