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many years ago, we came into possession of about a gazillion of the large plastic cones found inside an industrial spool of thread, and they work very well. we've also got a bunch of small hoops (maybe 8" across) made of some kind of braided material--those work great. Making straw-and-string frames using a heavier plastic tube instead of a straw works very well; thicker material is easier for little hands to grasp, and if you use an opaque tubing, you can see it in the solution. there's a few smallish hula hoops that work with varying success; on my to-do list is to wrap them in cotton cord, which will give them better bubble-holding qualities. I threw in a few rubber jar seals (the kind you'd use for mason jars) last week, and they seem to be working pretty well.
regarding the frequency of cleaning, we currently do it daily, though I am not convinced it's necessary. I think every other day would be sufficient, with the occasional addition of some solution as needed; this would save lots of water and soap and therefore, money. we have a couple components of the exhibit that are pretty deep and use a lot of water, and I really want to convince the powers that be that there is NO reason to drain those daily.
I think it says something about how amusing our jobs are that we're well versed in the behavior of bubbles and how to make good ones. :)
AD
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alissa Daniels, Science Program Manager
Boston Children's Museum
617 426 6500 .342
"The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not "Eureka!" (I found it!) but "That's funny..." " --Isaac Asimov
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-----Original Message-----
From: Informal Science Education Network [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Charlie Carlson
Sent: Saturday, March 16, 2013 4:06 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Bubble Exhibits
ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
*****************************************************************************
Hi Alison et all,
The type of hoop will vary the experience. We have our long standing bubble hoops. With them, only a tiny fraction of visitors succeed in making bubbles with the hoops, and the big hoop takes lots of practice and luck even if you're good. Both provide significant feedback cues so for the 3 to 4% bubble making success rate and sustains interest. There 's a big payoff and lots of "ooze and aahs!" Graphic explanations seem pretty secondary, but essential. There always seems to be a few bubble masters that show up in the crowds. For the other 95% they typically find other ways to succeed. Surprisingly the technique transfer rate from expert to novice bmaker damps within several visitors. So everyone successfully and enjoyably struggles and a few succeed making big bubbles, but it's a blast anyway.
I'm sure it's possible to figure out a remote STEM justification, but the mere challenge of doing something with a bubble solution provides more than enough challenge and inquiry based activity. And plain old fun.
It used to be said that it took a few days and the accumulation of a few dead flies in the solution to make it really good, i.e. age and use made it better, but polyethylene oxide seems to make it good right out of the gate.
I'm curious as to the experience of others.
C
Sent from Charlie's iPhone
510-499-8086
On Mar 16, 2013, at 10:48 AM, Allison Schwanebeck <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology
> Centers Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
> **********************************************************************
> *******
>
> Hi Everyone,
>
> I really appreciate the feedback from the recent question on bubble solution. What I am wondering is if you could tell me how often you change out your bubble solution. Do you change this depending on traffic to your exhibit (busy seasons verse slow). Also do you dump it out or do you just add new to the old.
> Finally what are your thoughts on bubble wands? We have used them for quite a few years but haven't really seemed to find a good brand and I'm not convinced that they provide the best interaction in an exhibit environment. Recently we just added bubble rings to the experience which seem to solve many issues. Any thoughts or input would be appreciated as we working on the renovation plans for this exhibit currently.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Allison Schwanebeck
> Director of Exhibits
> Science Center of Iowa & Blank IMAX® Dome Theater
> 401 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Pkwy Des Moines, IA 50309
> 515-274-6868 ext.303 . 515-274-3404 Fax [log in to unmask]
>
>
>
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For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.
Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at www.exhibitfiles.org.
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For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.
Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at www.exhibitfiles.org.
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