Fun winter science doesn’t have to mean freezing temperatures and snow drifts as high as the eye can see. Instead you can opt for simple winter science activities with a winter theme like Frosty the Snowman (without the snow). Find out how to set up a winter bubble science activity sure to keep young kids busy with plenty of play and hands-on learning too!

Bubble Play For An Indoor Winter Activity

Kids love blowing bubbles, and it’s not just for summer time either. Bubble science is perfect for a rainy day indoors and even a cold snowy day too! Making Frosty the Snowman bubbles is a simple and fun way to explore bubble science this winter!

The kids can easily do this winter bubble activity indoors. If you have the opportunity to take the bubbles outside in the cold weather, you can also explore a freezing bubbles experiment too!

Here are a few more of our favorite bubble activities…

How Do You Make Bubbles?

Bubbles are made up of a thin wall of soapy film that fills with air. You can liken a bubble to a balloon in that a balloon has a thin skin of rubber filled with air.

However, when two bubbles of similar size meet, they merge together creating the least possible surface area. Balloons of course do not do this. When bubbles of different sizes meet, one will become a bulge onto the larger bubble.

You may start to notice that when you get a ton of bubbles going that they start to form hexagons. Bubbles will form 120 degree angles where they meet. If you would like to go deeper into the science of bubbles, read here.

FREE Printable Winter STEM Activities Guide!

Frosty the Snowman Bubble Activity

See here how to make bubble solution with glycerin as an alternative to corn syrup!

Here’s where you can let the kids get creative with designing their snowman cups and choosing materials to complete those designs.

Supplies:

  • White Paper/Plastic Cups
  • Orange Pipe Cleaner
  • Orange Foam Paper
  • Black Sharpie
  • Google Eyes
  • Red, Green, or Blue Straws
  • An adhesive material (hot glue, glue, tape)
  • 1 cup water
  • 4 tablespoons dish soap
  • 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
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Instructions:

STEP 1. Turn a cup into a snowman.

You can let the kids have a great time getting crafty with their individual snowman cups. Whether you use just markers or get out all the supplies, doesn’t matter for the experiment itself. Orange foam paper, google eyes, stickers, and anything you have around make great snowman accessories.

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STEP 2. You can make up your bubble solution ahead of time or have the kids help you measure and mix!

Here’s 2 easy recipes for homemade bubble solution.

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STEP 3. Add bubble solution and a straw to each snowman cup!

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STEP 4. Now for the fun and science part! Let the kids blow bubbles. You may want to make sure they know not to suck up the solution but instead blow into the straw!

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Bubble Science For Kids

What is a bubble?

A bubble is simply air surrounded by a thin soapy film. A bubble will always become a sphere once it’s sealed shut! No matter what shape it started as.

Why do bubbles stick together like you see here?

A bubble wants to minimize its surface area, so it will join together to share one common wall. 

The bubbles will pop when the water in the soapy film evaporates. In cold weather, take this activity outside and see if you can create a frozen bubble tower!

Do you see a rainbow in a bubble?

A bubble gets its color from light waves reflecting between the soap film’s surfaces. Bubbles can also reflect what’s around them, like the faces peering at them.

Can you make different shape bubbles?

Go ahead and see how we experimented with geometric shape bubbles here. However, bubbles prefer to be the smallest shape possible even though you can stretch them out. Even if you have a neat shape going, once the bubble seals itself it will become the smallest sphere possible again.

Why do bubbles stick together?

Did you blow up a huge bubble tower and wonder how all the bubbles stick to each other without simply popping? Bubbles like to join together to reduce surface area, so they share a wall. Can you see how several bubbles join together all using the same wall?

Turn It Into A Science Experiment

Here are several ideas for extending this bubble activity.

Do all bubble solutions produce big bubble towers or even bubbles at all? What about just dish soap and water? Mix up several different bubble solutions to determine which solution works the best!

Add even more cool STEM. Who can build the tallest bubble tower? Get out the measuring tape and see if you can create the tallest bubble tower possible.

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More Fun Winter Science Activities

Click on each of the links below to find more fun ways to explore winter science, even if it isn’t winter outside!

Printable Winter STEM Pack

Even if you don’t live in a snowy winter climate, there are many ways to explore the season!

WHAT’S INSIDE? You’ll find 250+ Pages of Winter theme projects for science, STEM, and art!

  • 25+ Winter science activities and STEM projects for kids that are easy to set up and fit into the time you have available even if it’s limited! NEW: Observation sheets for activities.
  • Printable winter theme STEM activities that are simple but engaging for home or classroom. Perfect for K-2 and beyond and adaptable to many skill levels.
  • Find simple background science explanations to share with kids while they explore hands-on and playful experiments, projects, and activities! Fun with physics, chemistry, design, engineering, and more!
  • Easy to gather supplies makes these STEM activities ideal when you have limited resources available. Perfect for trying with groups of kids.
  • Engaging winter STEM activities packed with winter theme activities, journal pages, and design process steps! Includes structure-building cards, STEM challenge cards, and screen-free coding activities.
  • Fun snowflake theme STEM, including snowflake cutting templates, snowflake tinker cards, and snowflake science activities, including a snowflake formation cycle!
  • Even more, winter printable sheets include hibernating animals sort, snow weather cycle, 5 senses for winter journal pages, thaumatrope patterns, and fun extras all with a winter theme!
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