Clover Kids learn from experiments with bubbles and elephant’s toothpaste ...

Anyone near the Waukon Wellness Center Saturday, May 15 was sure to see bubbles floating over the roof. Clover Kids experimented with store-bought bubbles and homemade bubbles made out of dish soap, water and glycerin. They made their own unique bubble blowers out of pipe cleaners, including small, large, round and heart-shaped. Outside, they were challenged to test each solution (as evident in the photo at left above) and see which one produced the toughest, largest and highest flying bubbles.

Clover Kids also made elephant’s toothpaste. Using a mix of hydrogen peroxide, dish soap, yeast and water, they learned about chemical reactions. The hydrogen peroxide is broken down into water and oxygen. The extra water and oxygen mixes with the dish soap to create foam. It looks like foamy toothpaste being squeezed from a tube, but so big it’s fit for an elephant (as evident in the photo at right above).

For more information about 4-H and upcoming activities contact Becky Rea at the Allamakee County Extension and Outreach Office at 563-568-6345 or http://www.extension.iastate.edu/allamakee/. Submitted photos.