Bubble Prints

Making bubble paper

You can make colored bubble paper prints by adding food coloring to your bubble solution because the coloring will dissolve into the water in the solution that is part of the bubbles you blow.

Made from a basic bubble solution (like the one in our recipe), bubbles glisten and show off swirls of iridescent colors. Because of their spherical shape, bubbles refract light, or bend it, creating a color phenomenon similar to a rainbow. An interesting fact about bubble solution is that it cannot be dyed with simple food coloring or paint to create bubbles of a uniform color, such as all red or all blue. Soap molecules are attracted to water and grease, but not to the chemical bonds in these kinds of dyes*.

To create bubbly paper prints, follow these steps:

Ingredients

Bubble Solution
Food coloring (of various colors)

Tools

Pie plates (or other small shallow containers)
Straws
Paper

1. Fill a pie plate half-full with bubble solution.

2. Add 2-5 drops of food coloring and stir very gently with a straw.

3. Insert the end of a straw into the solution and blow until the plate is overflowing with little bubbles.

You will notice that the bubbles have a colored “hue” when they “foam” out of the solution.

Be sure to remind your young children to blow through the straw, not to suck, as they might be accustomed!

4. Place a piece of paper onto the top of the bubble foam, letting the bubbles pop onto the paper.

5. Remove the paper from the bubble foam and set it to dry on a flat surface. While the print is drying, observe the shapes and colors with your child. You might find that the bubbles left non-spherical shapes on the paper. Ask your child why they think some of the bubbles made new shapes.

6. After your bubble print has dried, enjoy adding colors and drawings to it, or enjoy it by itself for its simple beauty.

*If you want to learn more about coloring soap bubbles, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soap_bubble Under the section “coloured bubbles” you will find information about the science of coloring bubbles.