Bubbles present infinite learning possibilities; their visual attractiveness, the challenge they offer, and the sensory experience they bring all make learning enjoyable for children of any age. This specific day, children worked together with educators to make an “almost” unpoppable bubble mix and used a straw or their own handmade pipe cleaner bubble wands that they made last week to make bubbles. The bubble mix was made using specific proportions of water, sugar and dish soap (1 cup of water + 1 tbsp of sugar + 2 tbsp dish soap = Bubble mix with a lot of smiles). As we were making the mix, Amilia asked how the sugar helps in this solution which led us to talking about the science behind bubbles and Hector explained how sugar can decrease the rate of water evaporation of water, thus making the bubbles to last longer. Eliora successfully made a flower, Piper wet her hand a little and blew a bubble on it and smartly bounced another bubble. Amilia made a teddy bear while Hector gave in his all to make the biggest bubble. Wilder and Eliora blew a bubble out of their bubble wands and balanced it on the bubble wand. Wilder made a bunch of bubbles on his hands and everyone pointed how they look like grapes. Some children blew a bubble in a bubble, and made a bubble garden with flowers in it. Such STEM activities help foster inquiry-based learning which is a great way to provoke curiosity in children and also answer their questions at the same time. Open-ended, STEM-focused activities cultivate creativity by motivating students to use their own imagination and resources to interpret the situation. Not only this but, STEM learning also integrates and applies concepts, processes, and ways of thinking associated with these subjects to design solutions to real-world problems.
