How to Make a Simple Bubble Machine

A homemade bubble machine can add excitement to a child's birthday party.

A bubble machine is a device that uses soapy water to produce bubbles, then blows them into the air. Bubble machines can be used at a child's birthday party or to add excitement to any other backyard celebration. Purchasing a bubble machine can be expensive, but making one at home will save you some money. Most items needed to build a simple bubble machine may already be lurking in your kitchen or in your child's toy box.

Things You'll Need

• Large plastic container, square or rectangle
• Knife
• Drinking straw
• Scissors
• Glue
• Plastic plate
• Soda bottle cap
• Pen
• Sand paper
• Metal coat hanger
• Nail
• Silly puddy
• Toy pinwheel
• Box fan
• 5 tbsp. liquid dish soap
• Water

Instructions

1. Cut two opposite sides out of a large-sized plastic container using a knife. The container should be at least 1 feet high and 1 to 3 feet wide on each side. Leave 6 inches at the bottom so the water doesn't run out. In the center of the now open sides, cut a small V-shape about 1 inch wide and 1 inch deep.

2. Cut off two pieces of a drinking straw, each piece 1 inch long. Glue one of these pieces into the center of each V-shaped hole. The straw should sit perpendicular to the open side, sticking in and out of the box.

3. Cut a circular disk out of the center of a plastic plate. The circular disk should be flat and measure about 4 to 5 inches in diameter. Cut circular-shaped holes around the edge of the disk, 1/2 an inch from the edge. Trace around a soda bottle cap with a pen to draw the circles, then cut them out with a knife or a pair of scissors. Use any grit-size sand paper to smooth the edges of the circles. Poke a tiny hole into the center of the disk, using a nail.

4. Cut of the hook and neck of a coat hanger, then unbend the triangle part of the hanger to make a perfectly straight wire. Push one end of the wire through one straw that is attached to the plastic container, then through the center hole in the plastic disk, and again through the remaining straw on the opposite side. Slide the disk into the center of the wire. The wire should be balanced between the open sides of the container, with the disk hovering in the center, but not touching the bottom of the container. If the plate is loose around the wire at the center hole, add silly puddy on each side so the disk will spin when the wire spins.

5. Remove the stick from a child's plastic pinwheel and attach silly puddy to the middle, on the back side of the pinwheel. You can glue the silly puddy to ensure the pinwheel doesn't fall off. Attach the pinwheel, facing out, to one end of the coat hanger, adding more silly puddy around the wire if needed.

6. Pour 5 tbsp. of liquid dish soap into the bottom of the plastic container, then fill with water to it's lowest edges. Stir the water to thoroughly disperse the soap.

7. Place a box fan in front of the pinwheel, at least 1 feet away, then turn it on low. The pinwheel should spin, making the wire and center disk spin as well. The circles along the edge of the disk should dip into the soapy water, then spin into the wind of the fan to produce bubbles.

Tips & Warnings

• If the wire doesn't spin inside the straws, spray inside the straws with WD40.

• Turning the fan on high or placing it too close to the pinwheel will blow the pinwheel and push it back into the straw and it will not spin.

References

• PBSKids.org: Bubble Blowing Machine

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish