If you haven’t already jumped on the giant bubble wagon, you HAVE to try it! We stumbled upon someone making giant bubbles at the park. Once my kids saw it, they were hooked. So naturally, we had to give it a try.
Since there are many recipes and different ways to make these bubbles, I did a little bit of experimenting to see which works the best. Here’s what I came up with.
Make your bubble solution
There are quite a few recipes out there for these bubbles. However, I found an awesome website that goes way in-depth into the science of bubble solutions. Their recipe is by far the best I have found. So here it is:
Ingredients:
1 tsp Guar gum (thickening agent)
2 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp alcohol;
9.5 Tbsp Dawn dish soap
15 cups water
Directions:
Measure the first four ingredients into a large bowl or bucket and mix together. Add water and mix until combined.
That’s it! Your bubble solution is ready. Apparently, using Dawn dish soap is critical in the success of your bubbles. If want to try different variations on this recipe, you can try glycerin instead of alcohol. I’ve also heard that you can add KY Jelly and it makes the bubbles last longer in the air. Haven’t tried that yet though.
Assemble your bubble wands
There are many ways you can make your wands, but the steps below will get you started.
Bubble wand supplies
Cotton twine
Measuring tape
Scissors
Two sticks or dowels (about one to two feet long)
Key or keychain ring or metal washer
Directions
Using cotton twine, measure one long piece of string that is 52 inches long and one short piece of string 26 inches long. Tie one end of the long string to one end of the stick. Thread the key onto the string. Tie the other end of the long string to the end of the other stick. Finally, tie each end of the short string to each end of the sticks in the same spot where the long strings are tied. Then you’re done!
Create your bubbles!
So, the pictures above are pretty self explanatory. Just make sure you dip all of the string into the solution and keep the sticks together until it is completely out of the solution. Pull the sticks apart slowly and let the wind blow your bubbles. If there’s no wind, just walk to the side or blow. This is definitely the funnest part! I have found that the sticks and strings get tangled very easy, so the little kids might need a little bit of help.
Experiment with other variations
It was fun to experiment with various sizes of sticks and strings. We also tried yarn and rope and they worked okay. The cotton twine seemed to work the best though. For some really huge bubbles, you can make some adult wands that are made from ski poles or fishing poles. For the little squirts (ages 4 and under), you can make some fun wands out of chicken wire or pipe cleaners. That way there’s fun for everyone.
I hope you guys have as much fun with these giant bubbles as we did! Let me know what worked and didn’t work for you in the comments below.
