Outdoor Activity: Rainbow Bubble Snakes
Everyone loves bubbles! Here’s a unique way to create long strands of bubbles using recycled materials and ingredients from your kitchen. These rainbow bubble snakes are simple to make, but a bit messy, so take them outside for some sloppy fun!
What you need to make rainbow bubble snakes:
- A recycled water bottle
- A sock
- A small bowl
- Liquid food coloring
- Scissors
- Water
- Liquid dish soap
Note for parents: the food coloring in this project makes it a bit messy, but you can make very fun bubble snakes (and less mess) without the food coloring.
1. With the scissors, cut the bottom off of a water bottle. We used 6 oz. bottles, but any size will do.
2. Pull a sock tightly over the bottle. If needed, trim the sock. Roll the extra sock down so you can see the mouth of the bottle.
3. Squirt a generous amount of liquid dish soap into a small bowl. Add a small amount of water and mix (about a Tablespoon). The mixture should be mostly soap.
4. Find a place in the yard where food coloring won’t get on anything important! The grass is a good spot!
5. Dip the bottom of the bubble-sock device into the soap mixture.
6. Drip food coloring onto the bottom of the blower in this order: red, yellow, green, blue.
7. Gently blow through the mouth of the bottle to create a long rainbow snake.
NOTE: Remember to only blow out through the bottle. Never breathe inward or you might inhale bubbles — ick!
Try putting your bubble snake on the grass, and see what happens when most of the bubbles pop!
Have some fun by having a “who can make the longest snake” challenge!
Additional Resources:
- For more info on the science behind these bubble snakes, visit Steve Spangler Science.
- Fizzy Rainbow Explosions
- Bubble Art Activity
- Bubble Magic Experiment
- Giant Bubble Recipe
Heather Mann is the mother of four boys, and is constantly on the lookout for fun games, activities, and recipes to keep her busy boys, well, busy. She designs and shares clever crafts with a frugal twist at her site Dollar Store Crafts and ideas for being the best mom ever (on a budget) at Dollar Store Mom.