It must be said, children of all ages (and adults too) seem to go crazy for bubbles. The chasing, the popping, the mastering of technique. Even that rainbow colouring that changes in the light is so captivating. They’re a cheap and fun way to encourage many areas of learning as it’s believed that bubble play provides a variety of benefits including depth perception, hand-eye coordination, special awareness, visual tracking skills, gross motor movement as well as balance and muscle tone development. Who knew bubbles could be so beneficial?
Bubbles are indeed a great way to enjoy some outdoor play (though we are partial to a few indoors on a rainy day) and bubble machines can be a lot of fun but have you ever seen giant bubbles in action? You can purchase sets for making giant bubbles but it’s actually very easy to make yourself at home which little people love to help with, so we’ve pulled together two different recipes for you to try as well as some instructions and top tips.
The tools
We’ve got two of our favourite giant bubble recipes below to get you started, both of which have slightly different ingredients, but to make your giant bubbles, you’re going to need a wand. You can either make your own bubble wand – we’ve done this with a piece of string and a washer which works well – or you can also purchase wands from places like Amazon. We’ve found a simple guide to making a tri-string bubble wand here.
If you buy the cotton cord, please be aware that sometimes they’ll have a man-made fibre core which you must pull this out before using it. To use your wand, dip all the cord in the mixture and, keeping the ends together, lift out and open the wands. When the bubble forms, gently bring the ends together to release the bubble. It takes a while for the cord to absorb enough of the bubble mixture, so the first few attempts probably won’t be great, but practice makes perfect!
The expert
In case you didn’t know, Guernsey is home to world record breaking bubbleologist Chloe Ferguson and she’s shared with us her top tips for making giant bubbles:
- The best weather condition for bubbles is after rain. The moisture in the air prevents the bubbles from popping as early and gives your bubbles the opportunity to get even bigger. However, a day with a mild breeze will be perfectly suitable.
- A wonderful invention was made by Kalvin Klundt in the 1980s called a Tristring, essential for making monster bubbles. When starting out making my own simple giant bubble recipes (like Meg has shared with you below) we used to use two short sticks of bamboo and garden twine to create a tri-string however you are able to purchase much better tri-strings online.
- For the best results with Guar Gum based recipes, I recommend leaving for 6-12 hours before use and then using the mixture within two or three weeks.
- When storing your made-up solution, avoid extreme temperatures and if reusing solution, try and avoid contaminants getting in the mix, this can encourage fermentation which leads to fragile bubbles.
- Practice, practice, practice! Making giant bubbles takes a lot of practice and arm power! The world’s largest free-floating bubble outside was a whopping 96.27m3 held by Gary Pearlman in the US. Start off small then get more daring once you get the hang of it!
IslandFamilies Community Club members can claim £10 off parties and £25 off premium packages with Guernsey Bubbles – you can find more information here.
The recipes
We’ve got two great recipes below but when it comes to storing your much anticipated bubble liquid, anything with a lid works well. We tend to use an old bucket from bird fat balls.
Recipe 1
Ingredients:
1 litre water
3 tbsp washing up liquid
Add the washing up liquid to your water and stir slowly. Try to avoid making and froth and scoop off any that starts forming on the surface. If you feel like your bubbles are popping too soon try adding some more washing up liquid or try a tablespoon of cooking oil.
Recipe 2
If you feel like going the extra mile for tried and tested giant bubbles, the below recipe comes from local author Megs Bailey of guernseyhandmade. You may well have seen her and her husband creating bubbles in Saumarez Park over the years – this recipe is the one we use and is worth trying!
Ingredients:
5 litres water
1 ¼ tsp guar gum
5 tsp glycerine
200mls washing up liquid
2 ½ tsp baking powder
Put your water into a large bucket then in a small bowl, mix the guar gum with the glycerine to make a slurry. Stir the water in the bucket and then quickly immerse the bowl of slurry while the water is moving, stirring the slurry into the water to avoid getting clumps. Foam is bad for bubble making so try not to create bubbles as you stir. Remove the small mixing bowl and keep stirring for a few minutes. Gently add the washing up liquid and stir slowly to avoid creating any foam. Add the baking powder and stir gently.
The recipe will last for about a week, but we must admit, ours gets used up on the day we make it as we bubble for a few hours at a time!
All Community Club offers mentioned in this blog post were correct at the time of publication. To see an up-to-date listing of all offers click here.