The kids, volunteers, and teachers always arrive at Summerbridge Saturday smiling and chatting. They grab a snack on the way in and gather in the cafeteria. Every Saturday has a theme. Last month the kids learned about the water cycle.

The day started with an opening experiment where saltwater was converted to freshwater. To start, some saltwater was put in a bowl and covered with plastic wrap. The kids were told that the bowl would be left in the sun for the entire day so the water could evaporate, get caught on the plastic wrap, and drip back down as freshwater.

After this, the volunteers gathered their groups together. Once I started talking with my group, I found that the kids were really verbal and fun to engage. When we arrived at our first center, blowing soap bubbles, all the kids were extremely excited. Everyone was given a straw and a puddle of watery dish soap. When the signal was given, each student tried to blow the biggest soap bubble possible.

Next, their watery soap was wiped up and replaced with normal dish soap. The race was held again, and this time kids realized that now it was easier to blow a huge bubble. There were more centers like this one throughout the day.