New for 2027 — taking enquiries now
The Bubble Detective
A bubble science show where nobody gets taught anything. Holly Pop and the audience are trying to find the biggest bubble in the world, and they keep running into questions on the way. Why is it round? Can it be square? What is holding it together?
Check a date How it works in your venueProgramming a theatre, arts centre or festival stage? The same hunt runs as a full-length family show — Welcome to Bubbly Heaven.
- All agesFamilies, not just children
- Seated or drop-inSet up once, run all day
- Any spaceBuilt to fit your room
- Half-term readyHolidays and science weeks
What it is
A bubble is the laziest thing in nature. It pulls itself into the smallest shape it possibly can, which is why it comes out round — and why getting one to come out square is such a satisfying thing to watch happen.
The Bubble Detective is built on asking rather than explaining. Every demonstration genuinely does what it appears to do, live, with people out of the audience helping. When something goes wrong, which occasionally it does, that becomes the interesting bit and we work out together what changed. Answers arrive in about a sentence, and then we’re off after the next bubble.
It’s funny, and that’s deliberate. Bubbles refuse to behave, Holly Pop takes it personally, and children laugh long before they’ve noticed they’re watching physics.
Filmed at Greenmeadow Community Farm. Nothing is sped up or edited — that is the size they come out.
How it works in your venue
Drop-in demonstrations
Short repeating sets across the day, gathering a crowd each time. Best for free-flow visitors, half-term programmes and busy galleries.
Seated shows
A full-length performance for an auditorium or a marquee, timed into your programme.
Hands-on bubble table
An area where visitors make their own giant bubbles between demonstrations, staffed by me, so something is always happening.
Themed to your venue
The questions can lean towards flight, air, light or engineering, depending on what your collection or your festival theme is about.
Most venues take a mix — demonstrations through the day with the bubble table running between them. Tell me the shape of your day and I’ll put together something that fits it.
A woman doing the bubbles
The bubble world is full of Bubble Men. Where there are women, they tend to be listed by agencies as an anonymous “female bubbleologist” rather than under a name of their own. Holly Pop has her own name on her own show — which makes her an easy booking for any programme trying to put a woman in front of a family audience doing something technical, and a noticeably different name on a science week line-up.
Behind the stage name is Cheryl Holley, who has run bubble shows at parties, schools, holiday parks and attractions across the West of England and South Wales for years, and who now trains other performers. Bubbly Heaven is her own company.
Who it’s for
- Science and discovery centres
- Museums and visitor attractions with family programming
- Science festivals and STEM outreach events
- British Science Week, held every March
- Heritage sites, zoos and country parks
- Libraries and holiday activity programmes
- Universities running public engagement days
- Corporate family and STEM days
Because it works by watching and joining in rather than following a story, it suits early years, SEND settings and relaxed performances without needing to be changed. Looking for a school visit rather than a public event? Get in touch and I’ll send the details.
What I need from you
- Space — the show adapts to almost any area. Around 6m by 4m of clear floor gives every demonstration at full size, and it works down to roughly 4m by 3m. Send me what you have and I’ll tell you what fits.
- Floor — bubble solution makes any surface slippery. I bring my own matting and keep the working area managed throughout.
- Air — this is the one that catches venues out. Air conditioning, fan heaters and open doors destroy bubbles. Ventilation needs to be off or diverted where the show is happening.
- Power — two 13A sockets nearby.
- Sound — I bring my own radio microphone, or patch into your system.
- Water — access to a tap and a sink.
DBS check, £5m public liability insurance and a written risk assessment supplied ahead of the visit, as standard.
Booking ahead
Holiday and festival programmes are usually settled months in advance — often six to nine months ahead for a summer or festival slot, and by the turn of the year for the following spring.
If you’re planning a half-term, a science week or a summer programme, it’s worth getting in touch well before you think you need to. Early conversations are welcome even when your dates aren’t fixed.
Based in Gloucestershire, working across the West of England, South Wales, the Midlands and into Oxfordshire, and travelling further where expenses are covered. Multi-day bookings are straightforward.
Trusted by 6,000+ families and businesses
Reviews from across the bubble shows, workshops and events run over the last several years are published openly on Google, Facebook and Trustpilot.
Check a date
Tell me your venue, the dates you’re looking at and roughly how your day runs, and I’ll come back with availability and a fee. Everything is quoted individually rather than from a price list. Invoices and purchase orders are no problem.
cheryl@bubblyheaven.co.uk