Bubbles and Balloons

Explore the best bits of bubbles and balloons! From blowing them to bursting them, discover all the amazing things you can do in between.

Can bubbles be made square? Are you brave enough to stick a skewer in a balloon? Can you put a person in a bubble?

You and your audience will be wowed by our giant bubbles and whizzing balloons. Get ready to have your curiosity stirred and enjoy exploring the properties of materials.

Primary schools often book this show for their younger years, combined with another of our primary shows for Key Stage 2 pupils.

Suggested audiences

3 – 7 year olds, families or mixed age groups, festivals and events

We will need the venue to provide

Two long tables, a floor that can get wet!

Curriculum Links

Key Stage 1

• Using first-hand experience and simple information sources to answer questions
• Understanding how the shapes of objects made from some materials can be changed by squashing, bending, twisting and stretching
• Understanding that pushes and pulls are examples of forces
• Recognising when things speed up, slow down or change direction, this is due to a force – for example, a push or a pull.

Key Stage 2

• Comparing everyday materials and objects on the basis of their properties, including hardness, strength and flexibility
• Understanding some materials are better thermal insulators than others
• Recognising differences between solids, liquids and gases, in terms of ease of flow and maintenance of shape and volume
• Observing changes that occur when materials are mixed
• Understanding that when objects are pushed or pulled, an opposing pull or push can be felt

Watch a sneak peak of how you can try one of the demonstraions in the show at home, making different shaped bubbles!

Key Stage 1

After watching the show, key stage 1 pupils should:

• Develop investigative skills, asking how? Why? What will happen if?
• Be able to use experiences from the show to answer questions
• Understand that gravity is a force that pulls things down
• Understand that bubbles contain air
• Understand that forces can make things move or change direction
• Describe simple physical properties of water, rubber, air and soap
• Appreciate that air is a substance

Key Stage 2

After watching the show, key stage 2 pupils should:

• Be able to name some simple 2D and 3D shapes
• Recognise that bubbles are spheres
• Understand that bubbles are made from air, soap and water
• Make hypotheses based on experience
• Describe the effects of simple forces on bodies
• Understand that air has mass

The STEM Directory is provided as a service to support you in finding enrichment opportunities. The activities are offered by external providers and are not endorsed by STEM Learning. We are not responsible for their content or delivery.