Bubbles are round when they’re floating in the air, but have you ever noticed the different shapes they become with they’re touching other bubbles? In this fun science and math activity for kids, we’ll be looking at the many bubble patterns created when multiple bubbles are touching.

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Not only are bubbles super fun to play with, but they provide a great hands-on way to explore patterns too! In this STEM activity for kids, we blew lots of bubbles and captured them in an empty CD case to see what patterns we could find. This post contains affiliate links.

Exploring Bubble Patterns

Materials for Exploring Bubble Patterns

Directions for Exploring Bubble Patterns

1. Pour your bubble solution into a tray. We used a disposable baking pan, but any small tray will work.

2. Slightly open an empty CD case and stand it in the bubble solution.

3. Put your straw into the bubble solution right near the open end of the CD case and begin blowing bubbles.

4. Once you have lots of bubbles inside the case, remove it from the tray and close it.

5. Look at the bubbles inside. What do you notice? Can you find any patterns? The kids were excited to find lots of hexagon and pentagon shapes!

6. Repeat this activity again. Did you discover anything new?

7. Optional: After we were done looking for patterns in the CD case, we took our bubble trays outside. This time we blew piles of bubbles in our tray and looked for patterns in the stacks of bubbles!

What’s going on?

When single bubbles are floating in the air, they are spherical. However, when two or more bubbles meet, they grab onto each other and share one or more common walls (depending on the number of bubbles). When the bubbles are about the same size, they meet at about the same angle.

Want to go even further?

Even more activities to inspire creativity and critical thinking for various ages.

Make your own bubble blower and bubble solution.
Make some giant, reusable bubbles.
Look for rainbows in bubbles.