News in Youth Services

I may have done too many experiments!

So I have been busy here.  Yes, I am always busy, finding good books, helping people out, planning fun programs and trying to keep up with my reading goal for this year, but this time of year is special.  You see, we are revving up for the Summer Reading Programs, and I am going out to most of the school and presenting all of the fabulous things we have going on here at the library this summer.  This year, our theme is "Fizz! Boom! Read!" which I just love!  You can sign up for the Summer Reading Program on June 2!  Science and experiments are so exciting, and I adore sharing fun ideas to try out at home.  With that said, at my school visits, I have been demonstrating an experiment, and I thought maybe, just maybe, you would like the directions on how to do it at home.  So let's get started and make a BUBBLE SNAKE!

1.  Have your grownup cut a plastic bottle in half.  I used a clean Coca-Cola 16 oz bottle and a knife.  You will definitely want your grownup to do this part!  Plus your grownup will want to see the final results, so you should put them to work anyway.

2.  Take a sock, and stretch it over the opening just cut.  Make sure the sock is pulled tightly across the opening with no wrinkles.  You can rubber band it in place if you like.

Anyone can be a scientist!

3.  Get a shallow dish and pour a nickel to quarter size amount of dish soap in the dish.  I used generic blue Dawn dish soap, but others could be used.  Then add some water to the soap and mix together.

4.  Take your bottle, and dip the material covered opening into the soap mixture.

5.  Gently blow through the mouth of the bottle and watch the bubble snake appear!  And remember, blow out, do not suck air in through the bottle - you'll get a mouth full of dish soap - YUCK!

So, there you have it.  That is how I made an awesome bubble snake for the kids when I go out to the classrooms to promote Summer Reading Programs here at the library.  Now, you too, can be scientists at home.  Make predictions - how many feet can you make the bubble snake?  How long will the bubbles last?  What happens if you use a different kind of soap, like hand soap vs. dish soap?  Try different kinds of socks - a think dress sock vs. a thick wool sock.  And finally, the best thing to try is to add food coloring to the sock before you blow your bubbles and make a rainbow snake!  This can stain though, so it might be best to try the food coloring outside.

Learn about Fizz! Boom! Read!
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