What You Need:
- Pipe cleaners
- Small straws
- Buckets with water
- Dish soap
What Do You Do?
- Thoroughly go over the bubble geometry presentation.
- Give each student pipe cleaners and a handful of pre-cut small straws.
- Have them make a cube, pyramid, or other 3-D shape with their supplies–make sure to keep a handle on the shape with pipe cleaners!
- Go outside and dip the 3-D shape into the water with dish soap (bubble solution) and see what forms inside the shape.
- If you can, try to blow bubbles with your wand!
What Happened?
Soap film must stretch to include the air trapped inside it, or reach the surfaces that form its boundaries. The more soap film stretches, the more elastic potential energy it gains. Soap film will stretch as little as possible to keep its potential energy low. The soap film will try to keep its surface area small.