mind blowingly big bubbles!

I have worked extensively with bubbles in exhibits, birthday parties, and teaching camps. Little did I know that it can be somewhat difficult to produce the perfect bubble! I researched different recipes all claiming to provide the best bubble and always felt like I could do better. Finally, with the help of a friend, I have discovered the sure fire way to make mind blowingly big bubbles and all it requires a cheap secret ingredient.

Why bubbles? Perhaps the question should be why not bubbles? Bubbles are fun, easy to make, and can provide hours of entertainment! To start, gather these supplies. For a more scientific explanation about soap and bubbles, click follow The Everyday Scientist.

• Big Bubble Mix (the secret ingredient, follow this link)
• Water
• Bowl
• Dawn Dish Soap (others work, but I have found this works the best)
• Pipecleaners (we used old stiff wire)
• String
• Wooden dowels (Marley suggested we use paint stirrers with string attached and they worked great!)
• Straws

To start, follow the directions given on the Big Bubble Mix container (if you are not using the bubble mix, I just pour water and Dawn dish soap in a bowl testing along the way).

Measuring the Dawn

The secret ingredient!

Once you have your desired bubble mixture ready try blowing bubbles! I like to make different types of bubble wands. I have found metal coat hangers, pipe-cleaners, homemade wands (see photo), and even your hands work great!

The gentle breeze helps!

Staring down the middle of a bubble

When you are done blowing bubbles, try making bubble art! It is very easy to do, you can create amazing pictures, and we already have most of the supplies, just make sure you have paper (heavier card stock paper works best), straws, and food coloring.

First pour some of your bubble solution into a bowl, tupperware, or other container. Next, blow lots and lots of bubbles with a straw, being careful not to drink any of the solution. Next drop drops of food coloring all around the bubbles, I like to add different colors, but you can experiment on your own. Finally set your paper on the bubble solution popping the bubbles and lift it off. You will have a great piece of artwork that just needs to dry!

Blow bubbles, add food coloring.

Place paper on top

pull off and......

beautiful!

I hope you have as much fun as we did doing these experiments! Don't forget to look at the other experiments on www.thegaragecreative and stay in touch at thegaragecreative@gmail.com!

Bubbely yours,

The Garage Creative

bottle of awesome!

Have you ever wandered into the Museum of Life and Science and seen the big blue mesmerizing exhibit? This exhibit is hands down one of my favorites because it changes every time you spin it. While working at a museum in Helena, Montana I found out that it is quite easy to make your own Turbulant Orb, or as I like to call it; Bottle Of Awesomeness!

To make your own all you need is :

• Empty plastic soda/ pop/ water bottle WITH CAP!
• Water
• Food coloring (optional but well worth it!)
• Liquid hand soap that has glycol stearate in it* (I know this sounds daunting but I promise it is not, here is a picture!) 
  

To do this is very easy. First fill water bottle to about 1/4 full of the soap and add a couple of drops of food coloring. Next, very slowly! pour water in to the very top, if it does not go all the way to the top, there will be some air bubbles but that is not a big deal. Put the lid on, I like to tape it to prevent it from accidentally opening.

For variations on this we like to try using different colors of food coloring and and different sizes of bottles. We also like putting a little bit of  sparkles in to see how they move around, glow in the dark liquid.



Going with the flow!

The Garage Creative

* This is the hand soap that looks pearly white, I have bought the generic brand at Walgreens, Target, and Walmart and never had any problems.

groovy science

I love this time of year! Family, friends, food, and time off all help to make this one of my favorite times of year. However, the long winter break can start to wear me and the kids thin as we near the end so it is always helpful to have a few easy activities. I have done this one many times and have always been amazed how easy, fun, and engaging it is for everyone!

Here is a small list of items to collect for this experiment:

• salt
• water
• olive oil
• alka seltzer
• food coloring
• cups, glass jars, something to hold ingredients
• flashlights (optional)
• Mineral oil and baby oil can be fun additions after the initial experiment with the olive oil.

To begin put a drop of food coloring in water and observe what happens. After the first drop, it is fun to drop another drop of another color in to see what color you can create. I like to do it first with cold water and then very hot water to see the difference.

Next saturate a water solution with salt and squeeze one drop of food coloring in. It is important not to start with too much food coloring because it will cause it to get to dark and you will not longer be able to see. It is fun to add the food coloring after stirring the solution, you get a really neat swirl pattern!

Finally, fill a glass about half full with water. Next, pour some olive oil in, so the glass is about 2/3 full. Put a few drops of food coloring in, you can mix colors if you would like, but remember not to do too much because it will get to dark. Observe the food coloring and then the real fun, either drop in the alka seltzer table or pour salt directly over the food coloring.

When you are done, you will have a salt lava lamp! For added fun, find a dark room and repeat all the steps under a flashlight!

Happy mixing and for other fun ideas, be sure to visit www.thegaragecreative.com!

The Garage Creative

i made goo; and it's glorious!

There are many different ways to achieve glorious goo, here are two very simple, don't want to stop playing with the goo favorites. To learn about goo, visit everyday scientist.

Glorious Goo number 1! 

This is very simple. First gather these items:

• Bowl
• Cornstarch
• Water
• Food Coloring (optional but definitely adds more fun!)

This can get a little messy but it is just cornstarch and water so it comes right up. I used to do this a lot for kids at Birthday parties and every time was just as fun as the last. All the directions I have seen say to use about 1 cup of cornstarch to about 1/2 cup of water. I have found that how much food coloring you put in can change this ratio so I like to start here and add more if needed. For example, if it is too runny, add  more cornstarch. If it is too dry, add more water (a little can go along way!) Here is a video showing what the consistency "should" look like.

For extra fun, buy LOTS of cornstarch and try to walk on "water". I have had the opportunity to do this a couple of times and it is a lot of fun! I used a large tupperware container and mixed 18 boxes of cornstarch. Try sinking down and then jumping out, you will be surprised what happens! I think this would be a great next Garage Creative event!

Glorious Goo number 2!

This is another classic recipe that you will find at any science center you go to. You may have to go to the store to purchase a couple of the materials but they are cheap and the end product is well worth it! Here is what you need:

• Bowl
• 4 tsp water
• 1/4 tsp Borax (see picture, it used to come int a green box but this one was new to me) 

• 
• 2 tsp Elmers Glue
• Food Coloring (again optional but well worth it!)

With this one first mix 2 tsp of water with 2 tsp of the glue and some food coloring. In another container mix the remaining amount of water with the borax. When the borax has dissolved, pour the borax mixture into the glue mixture and stir!

I really like changing the amounts to see how that changes the end product. It is also fun to double it and make more. There you have, you just made your own silly putty!

Have fun!

The Garage Creative

coffee filters are not just for coffee!

I am constantly looking for inspiration from everyday items to experiment and mess around with. Sometimes I forget how fun and inspirational an object is until it hits me in the face, which is what happened this morning.

As I was making my coffee, I accidentally bumped my coffee filters and one of them fell down. Watching it fall gracefully down to the ground I decided that I would get some string, tape, and a a little weight (I used a wine cork) to see if I could make a small little parachute. Here is a very short video of it falling and a picture of it hanging up.

After the parachute worked I got some watercolor markers and colored on the coffee filters. I then dropped water on them to "tie dye" them through chromatography!

I then combined the two activities and made a very nice parachute!

 

Happy landing!

The Garage Creative

boats!

July 5th addition!

In wanting to keep with the water/ boat theme the next suggestion I am making is to now make waves and see if your boats can sustain the energy in the waves.

All waves are caused by wind, except one......who knows the answer? To make your own wind try using fans (following safety precautions with water and electricity). If you do not have access to that, try dropping things in the water or making your own waves with your hands. Remember, getting wet in the hot weather is kind of the point!

In response to a couple readers questions about the aluminum foil boats, I have attached a photo of one of our many designs. This particular boat was able to hold 55 marbles before it took on to much water and went under. How many did yours hold? Don't forget to decorate your boats and maybe make some passengers.

One final suggestion, if you are in an area that is inundated with water, use the water you have. For example try sending your boats down the running water of the street (following all safety precautions of course and making sure you retrieve your boat so you do not litter!)

Stay tuned for videos and pictures of our boat regattas from this weekend!

Take care and have fun y'all!

The Garage Creative

For those of you looking to cool off (West Coast) and escape the rain (East Coast) and do something fun, creative, and learn something from it, here is my first suggestion.

BOATS!

I have done this many times with kids and love it for so many reasons.

·         Kids love it and its fun!

·         It teaches about buoyancy, engineering, and problem solving

·         So many different, easy, and readily accessible materials can be used

·         Super easy (see attached photo from my 3 year old!)

·         It can go on and on and on and on, well you get the idea

Here are the supplies you will need for the initial experiment:

·         Aluminum foil

·         Something heavy (pennies, marble, pebbles……)

·         Tub full of water (Bowl, swimming pool, bathtub….)

If your kids love it (which I guarantee they will) here are guiding questions and supplies you can use to extend it:

1.       Can you make a boat that moves?

2.       Can you make a boat that uses wind power?

3.       Can you make a boat that uses a paddle with a rubberband?

4.       How many more marbles, pennies, pebbles……..can your boat hold?

5.       That was a lot of aluminum, can you use less?

6.       What is the fewest amount of supplies you can use to make a moveable boat?

·         Popsicle sticks

·         Rubberbands

·         Sticks

·         Corks

·         Cardboard

·         Empty Yogurt, Milk, Pop, Coffee………..Containers

If you do this, please share your results, successes, re-gaventions, and thoughts! We would love to hear what worked and what did not. Remember, it is possible to learn more by failure than success. Encourage redo’s!