Event Recap: Bubble Day at Turtle Bay!

June 12, 2023

Written by Adam Walker, Art & History Educator

This past Family Second Saturday, a fun Turtle Bay Tradition continued: Bubble Day! Bubble Day at Turtle Bay is a Celebration of all things Bubble! The Education Department has been doing Bubble Day programs at least once a year for several years; the author of this blog post remembers facilitating several bubble days as a Teen Volunteer between 2012 and 2016! This year's Bubble activities included bubble walls and wands, as well as an experiment to see what household items can be used to make bubbles.

Bubbles are an opportunity to explore the science of surface tension and thin films. Bubbles are a thin film which is comprised of one outer and one inner layer of soap with a very small amount of water inside those layers. If anything dry breaks the surface… the bubble will pop! But anything soapy can touch a bubble without popping it, as many guests saw during the day as they reached their fingers through a bubble wall!

The highlight for many was the giant bubble-making station, where guests could get help from a volunteer to make bubbles that were bigger than them! Giant bubble making is kind of an art form itself; it takes the right solution, the right timing and careful hands, and even the right atmosphere! Air that is too hot and dry will make bubbles more challenging, so we were lucky to have a warm and overcast day that made bubble-making a bit easier!

Bubble solution can be made by mixing dish soap with water and an additive that strengthens the bubbles. Glycerin is a commonly used bubble strengthener. At Turtle Bay, we use the power of the internet to buy the highest quality of giant bubble mix to make our bubbles. Bubble wands can be made at home with pipe cleaners or even just your hand!

By the end of our Bubble Day this year we had well over 450 guests join us to play with the bubbles and experience some wonder at nature’s ability to make such fun and beautiful spheres of soap. We look forward to seeing you join us next summer for Bubble Day 2024!