Life-Saving Bubbles {Part 2}

Fresh off our bubble disappointment, I was on a mission.  I was going to find a great bubble recipe that would allow my boys to make giant bubbles.

One suggestion from many was to replace the dish soap I'd been using with blue Dawn, the liquid soap often recommended for its magic.  I'm not sure what's in there, but it's saved my day before, so I was willing to give it a try.

I also found an intriguing recipe that called for cornstarch and baking powder that seemed fun to try.

Then, just for good measure, I picked the brain of our daycare's STEM teacher.  Every summer she does a giant bubble day with the kids....I'm talking putting kids inside the bubble giant!  I knew she must have a great recipe, and I hoped she'd be willing to share her secret!

And then it rained.....and rained.....and rained.  It's been one rainy summer here in Northeast Ohio, so our project had to be put on the back burner for a while.

Finally, we had a sunny Sunday afternoon, so I got the ingredients together for our two experiments and headed outside.  The boys were excited to help measure and stir!

Glycerin - Take Two

We started with our recipe from the first go-round but replaced the dish soap we'd used with blue Dawn.  Knowing I couldn't guarantee the results, we started with a quarter sized recipe again. This batch was definitely pretty to look at in the pan, but would they work?

 No one wanted to wait all night to test them out (who knew if we'd get another dry day!) so we started playing with them immediately.  (We'd also been tipped off by our "favorite science girl" - AKA Ms. Mandy the STEM teacher, that letting them rest doesn't really do anything for them.)

It was a moderate success.  Using bubble wands that had come with bubbles we'd purchased, both boys were able to easily form plenty of  regular-sized bubbles. 

When we tried our giant bubble makers, though, it was more hit and miss.  We were able to actually form a couple this time, but they popped immediately.

Still, we decided this was a great recipe to keep on hand for regular bubble blowing, so we made another half-sized batch to keep on hand.

Cornstarch and Baking Powder

Still hoping to find a GIANT success, we tried the other recipe I'd come across.  I was pretty skeptical, but had the ingredients on hand, so I figured we'd never know if we didn't try.  

Same deal as the prior batches, we made a small test batch first.

This recipe didn't work well for us at all.  It was difficult to mix gently and yet forcefully enough to dissolve all of the cornstarch and baking powder.  Once we got it all mixed up, it didn't do much for us.  (Disclaimer:We didn't allow this one to sit based on the looming grey clouds and advice from our STEM guru.) Blowing regular bubbles was hit and miss, and it wouldn't even stick to the giant bubble maker. 

We ditched this recipe pretty quickly.  And then, it started to rain....AGAIN.  We packed our supplies up for the day and headed in.  I had one more suggestion up my sleeve from Ms. Mandy who did generously share her secret.  It sounded strange to me though, so I'd held off on getting the secret ingredient.  On the way back into the house, I decided that, strange as it sounded, we'd have to give it a shot.  

So far, the corn syrup recipe we'd previously tested has been our favorite, but check back soon to see what Ms. Mandy suggesti and how it worked for us!

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