STEAM Learning Lab – Hexagon Bubbles

Materials:

• Tray
• Dish soap
• Water
• Straw

 

Directions:

Have an adult help with this activity.

• Pour a layer of water into the tray and add some dish soap.
• Using the straw with the end in the water, gently blow some bubbles into the tray until you have made a lot! If you are doing this activity with a little one, make sure they blow bubbles instead of sucking in with the straw.
• At first the bubbles will be round, but as the tray fills up and the bubbles start to press together, you will notice that they are forming hexagons! Looking at it from the top will help you see the shapes.

More Fun

• Since hexagons fit so neatly together, you can make your own art project called a This is a pattern of shapes that fit perfectly together. Start by making a stencil of a hexagon. You can do any size, just make sure that all the sides are the same length. Use crayons or pencils to trace one hexagon on a piece of paper, then move the stencil and start another hexagon right on the edge of the first one. Soon you will fill up the whole paper with your tessellation and the hexagons will fit perfectly! Are there other shapes you can use to make tessellations?