Fun and easy play-based STEAM activity for toddlers, preschool & kindergarten
Bubbles with Angles? - Fun shapes experiment
Activity summary
This is not JUST another science activity – it’s a play-based, hands-on STEAM activity. It will keep your children extra engaged & motivated, which helps them learn!
In this activity, your children will be little investigators helping Kelvin the investigator
to solve tricky problems and find creative answers to the question: What different shaped bubbles can I make? By doing that, they get to practice concepts like shapes, and more.
Activity length: 20-30 minutes
Subjects: Science, Arts, Mathematics, Engineering
Adapt for your age group
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For this activity, you need only these simple supplies:
cardstock paper shapes
a bowl
bubble solution
wooden sticks or toothpicks
soaked peas
yarn
What will your children learn?
Your children will learn to:
Observe the shapes of bubbles and the shapes of squares and triangles.
Practice the prediction skills when reflecting and considering the shape of bubbles
while practicing these concepts:
shapes
Instructions
Step 1: Introduce the problem with a story letter
Teacher introducing the reseach problem through the letter that arrived from Supraland
In this play-based activity, your children will lead the investigation as an investigator. When children role play as investigators, they learn so much better! Try starting with a little ‘spin’ to get into character!
Then, they can help Kelvin the investigator solve some tricky problems in their new role.
Before the activity, prepare your supplies and print the letter.
Pro tip:
When children play as scientists, they think like scientists. Try using “scientist jackets” to help them really get into character!
When you start the activity, introduce the research problem in the form of a letter that arrived from Supraland where Kelvin the investigator lives.
You might be wondering: “Why should I use a story?”
Well, when you introduce a research problem through play and imaginary characters rather than just stating cold facts, children will be extra motivated to solve the problem for their new imaginary friends. Academic research shows this results in increased engagement, better focus, and improved learning outcomes.
You can find the story for this activity below (register for free to print this & many more free activities!).
Dear scientist friends,
We were just washing our colorful plates. My favorite plate is the yellow and triangle-shaped one, but Hoseli likes the red and square-shaped one. There is also one blue and round plate.
Then a gentle gust of wind blew towards us, and these beautiful and transparent, round spheres began to rise upward with the wind. The balls were sparkling in the sunlight with all the colors of the rainbow.
We were admiring the colorful spheres, and we began to wonder, could it be possible to make triangular or square-shaped bubbles as well?
After the child understands the problem, it’s time for some hands-on experimenting!
When children are doing the experiment, remind them why they want to solve the problem – to help Kelvin the investigator.
This helps them stay engaged. If they get stuck, you can ask supporting questions like: “What do you think might help Kelvin the investigator to solve this problem?”
If needed, you can get more ideas for guiding questions and adaptation tips for different age groups
(register here to get free weekly activities).
Here are the basic steps for his activity:
Study the shapes the teacher has cut out of cardboard: circles, triangles, and squares. Which shape corresponds to the shape of the bubbles we saw earlier? Would it be possible to make bubbles in the shape of triangles or squares, just like the plates Hoseli and Kelvin had?
Use a triangular piece of cardboard as a model to make a triangular bubble blower of peas and toothpicks.
"What shape do you think the bubbles will be when you use a triangular bubble blower?"
Now make a square-shaped bubble blower using the square cardboard as a model and predict what kind of bubbles will you get now.
Make observations on how the shape of the bubble blower affects the shape of the bubbles that are formed. Compare your observations to your predictions.
Interpret your findings together: Because of surface tension, the bubbles form as spheres regardless of the bubble blower’s shape. It is because a sphere is the tightest formation a group of particles can achieve.
Extra experiment:
Observe the shape of a cube together: can you find a familiar shape in it? Interpret: you can find many squares on a cube.
Count how many faces, edges and vertexes (points) the cube has.
Assemble the bubble cube blowers using the peas and sticks. Attach a string to one corner of the cube.
Make a prediction based on the previous experiment: What shape will the bubbles be when you use a bubble cube blower?
Dip each side of the bubble cube blower in the bubble solution to form a film on each side.
Observe: What kind of shape forms in the middle of the bubble cube blower?
Observe what happens when you blow in the bubble cube blower: what shape are the bubbles? Notice how the bubbles still appear as spherical.
Pro tip: give children the freedom to get creative and explore their own solutions!
Remember: It’s an imaginary world. It’s more than ok if children don’t give the “correct” answers right away – give them time to practice their skills.
Academic research shows children learn best through child-led play and inquiry rather than following strict instructions or memorizing facts because play allows them to build meanings and connections in an age-appropriate way.
This perhaps unintuitive approach is also proven to keep children more engaged and improve their learning outcomes.
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Adult wrapping up a play-based activity by encouraging children to share their findings with the character they’re helping.
To encourage children to analyze and share their learnings, you can gather in a circle to report to Kelvin the investigator.
Again, lead with the problem the character was experiencing in the letter. Encourage sharing wild and creative solutions without correcting children if they don’t fully understand the concept.
Remember: in playful learning, we’re not leading with scientific explantions – we’re putting the problem at hand into a context that makes sense to them. We can start building meanings from there.
Scientific explanation (for adults!)
The formation of soap bubbles is connected to the phenomenon of surface tension. Surface tension causes a thin film to form on the surface of the water. Usually, water’s surface tension is strong, but it can be weakened, for example, with dish soap. When the surface tension is weakened, you can stretch out the film by blowing on it and eventually create a bubble.
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This program is incredible. The characters, the stories, the experiments are so much fun. I do not need to spend any time planning. Everything I need is given to me be Kide Science.
Elsa
Kindergarten Teacher
Super easy to plan, and the items are usually things that we already have. Planning is made very easy & the children are very motivated!
Marju
Parent
Was just observed doing one of these lessons. Principal was shocked and so was I - one of the kids with pretty severe attention issues was engaged the entire time!
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You can find printable materials in our lesson plan attachments and extras section.
Activity length: 20-30 minutes
Subjects: Science, Arts, Mathematics, Engineering
30 min lesson
Easy preparation
Medium prep.
