Step-by-step tutorial
Warning
This project is for big kids only. Keep balloons away from babies and toddlers.
Step 1
Gather your materials.
Step 2
Cut a teeny-tiny hole in the large end of a balloon.
Step 3
Put a straw into the hole you just made.
Tip
Shake the straw. If the balloon falls off, your hole is too big! Get another balloon and try again.
Step 4
Put the balloon into a glass of water. Try blowing bubbles. Then try drinking some water through the straw.
Which is easier?
Learn more
When you blew into your straw, you didn’t just see bubbles, you saw … PHYSICS!
You probably noticed that you can blow as many bubbles as you want, but you can’t slurp up any water. Why is that? Because the balloon creates a one-way valve! When you blow into the straw, the air pushed the balloon open so the air could get through. But when you try to drink the water, you sucked the balloon over the end of the straw, blocking the water.