Did you know that you can “bop” bubbles on your hand?! It’s true! All you need is the right bubble recipe solution to make bouncing bubbles that are unpoppable! As you plan your end of the year activities, your preschool, kindergarten and 1^st grade students are sure to think this bouncing bubbles experiment is just like magic! Touch, bounce, and catch these super strong bubbles without breaking them!

I like to use this same three ingredient bubble recipe for our Bubble Day activities. Not only does it work well for bouncing bubbles, but it also works well for testing which object blows the biggest and best bubbles!

This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. Any purchases made through one of our links earns us a small commission, at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. All creative ideas and opinions expressed are purely our own. Read our full privacy policy and disclosure for more information.

Bubble Recipe Ingredients

• 3 cups of distilled water
• ¼ cup of light corn syrup
• ½ cup of Dawn dish soap
• 1 soft knit glove or sock

Bubble Recipe Directions

Before making this bubble recipe, place your students in pairs and give each pair a plastic dish with a lid. Each pair will also need to be given measuring cups.

Recommended Resources:

Bubble Day Activities for the End of the Year

Shop now

End of the Year Beach Theme Centers | Escape Room Activities

Shop now

End of Year Countdown Activities, Student Awards, Memory Book, Crafts Bundle

Shop now

As we make our bubble recipe mixture, I walk around to each group and pour/squeeze the ingredients into their measuring cups.

First, the students will mix the distilled water and light corn syrup together until the corn syrup dissolves.

Next, they will stir in the Dawn dish soap.

Last, let the mixture stand for approximately one hour.

Bubble Bopper Experiment

Once the bubble solution is ready, each pair will work together.

One student will gently blow the bubble, while the other student wears the glove/sock. This student will carefully “bop” the bubbles up and down on their hand.

They will need to let the bubble gently land on their “gloved” hand, so that it will bounce.

Some gloves and socks will work, while others will not. I had to turn my socks inside out for them to work without popping the bubble.

As the students are bopping the bubble, their partner counts how many bops before it pops.

They will record this number on their data sheet.

Bubble Bopper Science

So what makes the bubbles from this bubble recipe unpoppable?

It’s all about the corn syrup… or should I say the sugar in the corn syrup.

Bubbles have three layers, much like an Oreo. The outside is a layer of soap, followed by a layer of water and then soap.

Air gets trapped inside of this three-layered skin to form a bubble.

Normally, the water evaporates quickly. The corn syrup helps make the skin of the bubble thicker and slows the evaporation.

The gloves prevent the bubble from coming into contact with the oil on our hands, which would, typically, break the surface tension of the skin.

More Bubble Day Activities

Grab the “Bubble Bopper” graphing activity along with several additional Bubble Day activities here!

Want to see the Bubble Day activities in action, including the “Best Bubble Blower” experiment? Head to this post!

Other End of the Year Theme Days

You won’t want to miss our Marshmallow Day activities, complete with solar s’mores!

Grab your sand toys and get ready to solve The Case of the Beach Bandit! Students complete up to eight different math and literacy centers trying to solve the mystery during this Beach Day!

Or you might want to check out these tasty Ice Cream Day activities and centers!

For a full list of end of the year theme days check out this post!

DON’T FORGET IT… PIN IT!