STEM Engineering for Kids: Make a Bubble Blower Machine
This post may contain affiliate links.
Want an engineering project for your kids that rocks?! Â This bubble blower machine was a seriously fun project to make with my kids!! We all had a lot of fun figuring out what worked and didn’t as well as playing with it at the end!
Want to make a bubble blower machine for yourself? Follow along to learn how we did it.
How to Make a Bubble Blower Machine
Supples Needed:
2 Styrofoam Blocks (12 inches long)
1 Round Styrofoam Piece (8 inch diameter)
1 Wooden Dowel
Pipe Cleaners or Wire
1 Large Pan
Bubble Solution (You can make your own, or buy the big bottles at the store)
There was a lot of trial and error with this bubble blower machine project, but we finally found a working solution! Â That’s the fun with engineering projects. Sometimes they even end up not working, but we still learn from it, right?!
Begin with making a hole through the center of the round styrofoam piece. I did it using the dowel so it is just the right size. A pencil or something pointy may help to start the hole.
Then on the long blocks, make similar holes at about 5 and a half inches.
Use the wire or pipe cleaners to make the bubble blowing rings. We started with the regular wire, but ended up switching to pipe cleaner and it seemed to work better.
Cut pieces of pipe cleaners (or wire) about 8-10 inches long. Then twist them into loops with a step to push them into the edge of the round styrofoam piece.
We made 6 loops and evenly spaced them around the ring. (You may want to put these on before
Put the dowel through all three styrofoam pieces with the round piece in the center. Â The spacing will depend on the width of the pan you are using.
Fill your pan with bubble solution. You will want it filled all the way to the very top so the bubble wands get fully immersed into it. You will have a little bit of trial and error here, too. You need a pan long enough to not be bumped on the edges as the bubble blowers are turned. You also want the wants pushed in enough that they do not get stuck on the bottom of the ban as they are turned. Â This took a little bit of figuring out, but it will work!
We also switched from wire to pipe cleaners part way through the project because the bubbles were not blowing out very well. Once we made this switch, they came out really well!
Once you have your bubble blower machine all assembled, it is time to PLAY! Â You just turn the dowel to spin the machine make sure there is solution in the bubble wand and blow through it. You can also discuss Simple Machines with this project! Â We have a wheel and a gear.
See More Engineering Activities:
Paper Bridge: Easy Engineering Experiment!
Engineering: Make Paper Hold Up Books!
Three Little Pigs STEM Project for Kids
Homemade Pantograph Drawing Machine
This is part of the 28 Days of STEAM series hosted by Left Brain Craft Brain. Stop over there for more Engineering projects this week!
Find more STEAM projects in out STEAM Kids Book!
did you put duct tape on the dowel, how do you get the dowel to attach to the foam roller?? I am trying out for my Make Somethin’ Club at the elementary school I teach at.
We put duct tape on it only because our hole was a bit too big and it was wobbling around. It stayed put with the tape there. You don’t really need to attach it. The foam mostly holds it in place if your holes are not too large.
Hi, can you send me the link of the Bubble blower machine that I can post it on google classroom for my class virtual learning?
Thanks
Wow, well done, thank you!!!