Celebrate Bubbles at Bubblefest

The combination of staged spectacle, interactive science, and yummy vittles – not to mention a virtual metric ton of bubbles – makes Bubblefest XVI an event where it is easy for you to feel some measure of childlike happiness, even if you aren't a child.

Bubbles equal magic. It is one of life's simplest formulas. Simply stated, joyfulness and stickiness are the only two things you can possibly feel when you are surrounded by floating spheres. Of course, from the moment that you accidentally spilt a container of viscous, faux-soapy fluid on the front of your shirt as a child, you have probably convinced yourself that blowing bubbles, while undeniably fun, is barely science and certainly not art. If so, you have been living a cruel lie. In truth, bubble creation can be a blissful means of scientific study and artistic expression. If you want proof of this fact, all you need to do is come on down to the Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana for BubbleFest XVI; an annual celebration of the delicate airborne balls that is so cool, well, there's been XV previous ones.

Headlining this yearly springtime fete is internationally lauded bubble maestro Deni Yang, proud possessor of the Guinness World Record for largest bubble, which checked in at a whopping 170 feet. Patrons of all ages can watch Yang do his thing at the Mega Bubblefest Laser Show; an intriguing special event that combines his virtuosic bubble making skills with lasers, lights, sounds and special effects to create a show that is equal parts Lawrence Welk, David Copperfield, and Pink Floyd. Thrill to the sight of Yang creating bubbles that are alive with spinning and bouncing movements, filled with smoke, square, trapped inside other bubbles, sculpted into shapes, and even produced with nothing but his bare hands. And if your kid is lucky and well-behaved, he or she may get the chance to come up on stage and be placed in a bubble, as well. Not permanently, though. They'd be hard to get back in the car that way.

In addition to Yang's soapy feats of derring-do, kids and adults will have ample opportunity to play and interact with bubbles, all while learning about math and science in a sneaky bit of museum genius. Guests can use the Science Center's various learning stations to create whimsical items such as bubble mini-walls and bubble domes as they absorb information about such important mathematical and scientific elements as elasticity, geometry, air pressure, and surface tension.

There will also be scores of entertaining action outside the Science Center's legendary cube to keep your interest from floating away and/or popping. An impressive inflatable play zone, interactive science-based activities, and a bevy of water spheres will be around to entertain the young, while the young at heart can satisfy the kind of appetite that only a bubble deluge can work up by munching on grub served up by some of the area's finest food trucks, including Lobsta Truck, Dogzilla Dogs, and The Lime Truck. To top off the experience, the attraction "Me in a Bubble" enables people of all ages to have their photo taken while they stand as a prisoner of sorts within the slippery confines of a giant bubble.

The combination of staged spectacle, interactive science, and yummy vittles – not to mention a virtual metric ton of bubbles – makes Bubblefest XVI an event where it is easy for you to feel some measure of childlike happiness, even if you aren't a child. After all, at the end of the day, well, we're talking about bubbles. You know, magic. What's not to love?

WHEN:
March 31-April 22

TIME:
9:00 AM—9:00 PM (Mega Bubblefest Laser Show Runs at Various Times During the Day)

COST:
$19.95