Having Fun Making Giant Bubbles

Making giant bubbles has got to rank as one of the most exciting things to do. Dipping the bubble wand into the mixture, lifting it out gently and gently moving the wand around … now doesn’t that sound like fun!

To ensure you get to enjoy the satisfaction of making giant bubbles too, we’ve shared our favourite giant bubble recipe along with some suggestions of what to use as bubble wands.

Your Recipe for Making Giant Bubbles

There’s a secret ingredient you need to know about when making giant bubbles, and it’s baking powder. It turns out that baking powder helps to adjust the pH of the mixture, which results in stronger, larger bubbles. You could make it without baking powder, but it’s worth the trip up to the supermarket to grab some if you’ve run out.

INGREDIENTS

6 cups of water
Half a cup of dishwashing liquid
1 Tbsp of baking powder
Half a cup of cornflour
1 Tbsp of glycerine

METHOD

Dissolve the cornflour into the water and mix well. You may find that all the cornflour (which is added to change the evaporation rate of the water and make the bubbles stretchy) doesn’t all dissolve – a little left over is fine at the bottom of the bowl.

Gently combine the rest of the ingredients into the water and cornflour mixture. The key here is to avoid making froth, so stir gently!

Give your bubble mixture at least an hour to rest. When you see cornflour on the bottom of the bowl, you can gently mix it back in.

Bubble Wands for Giant Bubbles

There are plenty of things you can use as bubble wands around the house, though many tend to be perfect for small bubbles. For giant bubbles though, you need giant bubble wands and here are a few suggestions for you to experiment with:

Use 2 plastic or silicone straws and a length of wool that is 6-8 times longer than one straw. Thread the wool through the straws and tie the ends together in a knot. Use the straws as handles and dip the wool into the mixture, lift up and wave the wand around.
Stretch a metal coat hanger open to make a circle/oval shape. Wrap/cover the top hook up safely to use as a handle, then dip into the mixture.
Screw small ‘eye screws’ into the top of two wooden dowels. Thread thick cotton string or cord through both and form a large triangle. At the end of the triangle, tie a washer and join the string edges together. Dip into the mixture and away you go. Find detailed instructions to make these giant bubble wands here.