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Did you see the big bubble in Trinity College today?

They were pushing a big bubble around Trinity College this morning.

Well okay, not a bubble – a zorb – but it was all to do with the new exhibit at the Science Gallery, entitled “Bubble“, appropriately enough.

The interactive exhibition – promising fizz, froth and foam – runs from tomorrow, July 31 culminating with a Foam Party as part of Culture Night on September 25th. You’ll find out more after the jump:

Speaking ahead of the launch of BUBBLE, Michael John Gorman, director of the Science Gallery said, “BUBBLE is an exhibition where we ask our visitors – young and old – to get their hands wet in our Lather Lab – for example how long can you make a bubble last? Can you make a bubble to cover yourself? How can you make a paper clip float on water?”

It’s all about the physics of bubbles and foam, about the “iridescent changing shapes and colours and the fantastic bubble structures”, and has been developed in collaboration with leading physicists Professor Denis Weaire and Dr Stefan Hutzler, of the Foams and Complex Systems Group, School of Physics at Trinity College Dublin.

There’s some great exhibits to be seen:

BUBBLE TUBE

Become the boy or girl in the bubble. Whatever your height this specially formulated bubble mixture will encapsulate you.

LATHER LAB

Researchers from the Foams and Complex systems group in Trinity College Dublin invite you into their world of foams, films and physics. Can you create the longest lasting bubble? What goes into making a bubble? Can you predict when a bubble will burst? Is foam a liquid or a solid? Why is a single bubble round? Can you make bubble crystals? What happens when soap films touch?

SOAP OPERA

Showing a moment in time in the turbulent life of a soap film. Tim Durham’s photographs explore light interference on the thin soap film of the bubble just after it is blown and before it disappears in a miniature explosion.

SOAPER-SONIC

Physicists have created an installation that translates the complex dynamics of a draining soap bubble into everchanging patterns of light and sound.

In addition to the interactive elements BUBBLE will represent foams and bubbles through a range of installations and artworks. Installations include a model of the Water Cube from the 2008 Beijing Olympics where the Weaire Phelan structure inspired the architects to create the distinctive exterior, the installation 10,000 peacock feathers in foaming acid by Dmitry Gelfand and Evelina Domnitch returns to the Gallery after being shown at Lightwave 2009, and the Soap Opera photography of Tim Duram.

One of the interesting ones at the end of August is their Bubble weekend, running from August 28 to 30:

A weekend to get deep inside the secret life of the BUBBLE. Help set a world record and be a judge at Barista Foam Smackdown where you’ll vote for the coffee with the perfect cappuccino froth. Watch internationally renowned bubble artists and learn more about the physics of foam and bubbles, and as always, expect the unexpected.

This morning I got to enjoy shots like this :

and to see the tourists stop to watch the zorb being escorted across Trinity College:

Photos a mix of the Science Gallery’s and my own.

You can find out more about BUBBLE over at the Science Gallery website on http://www.sciencegallery.com/bubble. Admission is free with a suggested donation of €5. It’s open Tuesday to Friday 12:00-20:00 and Saturday to Sunday 12:00-18:00.