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Volunteering at Scouts is changing to help us reach more young people

Volunteering is changing to help us reach more young people

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Make your own bubble wands

Get ready to blow some bubbles by making your own pipe cleaner bubble wands.
Plan a session with this activity

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You’ll need

  • A4 paper
  • Pens or pencils
  • Bowls
  • Tea towels or towels
  • Bowls
  • Pipe cleaners
  • Beads, such as pony beads

Before you begin 

  • Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. There's also more guidance to help you carry out your risk assessment, including examples. 
  • Make sure all young people and adults involved in the activity know how to take part safely. 
  • Make sure you’ll have enough adult helpers. You may need some parents and carers to help if you’re short on helpers. 

 Setting up this activity 

  • You may want to run this activity outside. If you’re running this activity indoors, have some towels available for any spills. 
  • Pop tea towels underneath the bowls of bubble solution to help with spillage or dripping. 
  • Make sure to have some bubble solution ready, such as in washing up bowls. 
  • You may wish to make an example bubble wand, or you could have some pre-made bubble wands for people to use. 
  • Supervise and remind younger sections, such as Squirrels, to not put anything (such as the beads) in their mouths, noses or ears.

Making the craft 

  1. Gather everyone together and explain that you’re going to make bubble wands.
  2. Everyone should start by deciding what shape and size bubble wand they’re going to make. They could make a circle, a square, a heart, a star, or even something 3-D!
  3. You may wish to draw the shape out onto a piece of paper for people to ‘trace’ with the pipe cleaner. 
  4. Use the pipe cleaners to create the shape. You may use one or you may want to twist two or three pipe cleaners together to make a bigger shape. Watch out for the sharp points on the ends!
  5. When the shape has been made, twist the ends of the pipe cleaner(s) together to complete the shape, so there aren’t any gaps in the shape.
  6. Now, let’s make the handle. Take another pipe cleaner and fold it in half. Twist the two halves together to make the handle more solid. Try to leave some room at one end to connect the handle to the shape.
  7. Twist the handle ends onto the shape to attach and secure the two pieces together.
  8. Next, thread some beads onto the handle, until you reach the bottom of the pipe cleaner. 
  9. Leave a gap at the bottom of the handle and add a twist at the end to keep the beads from falling off.
  10. Now, give it a try. Dip the bubble wand into bubble solution and see who can make the biggest bubble!

Reflection

This activity was all about making bubble wands. What was it like making a bubble wand? What did you enjoy? Why did you choose that shape? And why did you choose those beads? Which other bubble wands did you like? 

They could be quite complex to make. Did anything go wrong? How did resolve it and not give up? Did anyone help you or did you help anyone? 

We used pipe cleaners for this activity. Why do you think they make good bubble wands? The bubble material Is there anything else that would make a good bubble wand? What do you think could work? What else could pipecleaners be good for? We can use them in crafts, such as to make monsters or animals, especially as they’re bendy. 

They were originally made to help clean tight spaces, such as drinking straws, but they’re mainly used in crafts now.  

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

Scissors

Supervise young people appropriately when they’re using scissors. Store all sharp objects securely, out of the reach of young people.

  • To make this craft easier, you could have some shapes ready for people to use or have the bubble wands ready, so people just need to add the beads.
  • To make this craft easier, attach the pipe cleaners together using stick tape, rather than twisting them together. You could also stick the pipe cleaner shape onto a lollipop stick for the handle.
  • To make this craft harder, you could challenge people to make bigger or more complex shapes, such as a 3D shape. Can anyone make a cube? 

Make it accessible

All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.

Beavers Creative Activity Badge

Young people can choose their own bubble-wand shape. Can they create a game to play with the bubbles?