How to Enclose a Person in a Soap Bubble

Kids love bubbles. A spectacular trick that will entertain kids and grownups alike is enclosing a person in a soap bubble. It's a great kids party event. If you're fast with a camera, you can capture the trick for posterity. Read on to learn more.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• A few gallons of home made soap bubble solution
• Glycerin
• A round plastic hoop, such as a Hula Hoop, about 3 feet in diameter
• A kiddie wading pool, about 4 feet in diameter
• A plastic stool with a nonskid surface
• A long strip of cloth, such as a strip of towel
• At least 3 people to perform the trick and at least one more to take the picture

1. Mix up 2 or 3 gallons of bubble solution and add about 4 oz. of glycerin to make the bubbles thicker and stronger.
2. Pour the bubble solution into the wading pool. You need 2 to 3 inches of solution in the bottom of the pool.
3. The plastic hoop will be used as your bubble wand. If your bubble solution is thick enough, you won't need to use the cloth strips. If you do need them to get the solution to adhere to the wand, wrap the strips round and round the hoop so that all the plastic is covered, and secure the ends with tape.
4. Practice making a giant bubble before taking the next step. It usually takes two people to do this. With one person standing on each side of the pool, place the hoop flat into the pool. Have each person stoop down and take hold of the hoop on opposite sides. Lifting and standing together, the two bubble makers lift the hoop straight up out of the solution. This should create a bubble column stretching from the surface of the pool to the hoop as it rises. Continue lifting the hoop straight up until it is higher than the heads of the bubble makers. Then turn the hoop to the right or the left and pull it away to close the top of the bubble. It's important to decide before hand which way the bubble makers will turn the hoop so that the move is smooth and coordinated.
   
   It might take a few tries to get the bubble to form properly; but almost everyone has some experience making soap bubbles. This one is just bigger than most. You may have to adjust the "soapiness" of the solution to get it thick enough for the bubble to form and keep its shape properly.
5. Once the bubble makers are confident that they can produce a big bubble, put the nonskid stool in the center of the pool with the hoop in place in the bubble solution. Have the third person stand carefully on the stool and bend down a bit so that the bubble makers will have room to pass the hoop over this person's head.
6. The bubble makers now raise the hoop up smoothly until the bubble surrounds and is higher than the head of the person in the center. Then, just as they have practiced, the bubble makers turn the hoop quickly right or left to close the bubble.
   
   The person on the stool will be enclosed in the bubble for a few seconds until the bubble pops.
   
   You can perform this trick for as long as the bubble solution lasts on as many people as you like. This makes a great kids' party trick.

Tips & Warnings

• You may want to have someone ready with a camera. Everyone loves to have his picture taken inside the bubble.
• This can even be used as a science project if you do a write up about the chemistry of the solution, the physics involved in creating a giant bubble, and the experimenting necessary to create the bubble properly. It will be a guaranteed hit at any science fair.
• Use caution. The stool and the surrounding area may become slippery after a few big bubbles have popped.
• Don't put a person in the center who is too tall for the hoop to be lifted over his head.

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