'Bubbleologist' Teaches Kids Life Lessons
Updated 9:30 AM CST, Wed, Oct 15, 2008
When you think bubbles, you think kids. Big kid Geoff Akins is making a life out of blowing bubbles. He performs over 300 "BubbleWonder" shows a year.
"I call myself a bubbleologist, but you don't go to school for it. It's the school of life and practicing for hours in my bathroom -- good, clean fun," he said.
Akins began his career in bubbles after an encounter in a special education class with a boy afflicted with autism.
"For my own amusement, I found a jar of bubbles and started playing with them. This boy stopped what he was doing, sat down in front of me for the first and only time the whole summer," Akins recalled.
On a recent day, he performed for the second graders at W. J. Murphy School in Round Lake, Ill. The kids had some ideas on how he does his signature trick, creating a white, square bubble.
"He would put paint in the bubble," one kid surmised. "He uses a magic wand," and "He uses a paper towel and then makes a square" were other guesses.
Akins said he goes beyond just blowing bubbles. He takes the opportunity to teach kids lessons about life, telling them that anything is possible with determination and perseverance -- even square bubbles.
"If you know you can do it, try it and keep on trying," second-grader Branden Gonka said.
First Published: Oct 13, 2008 7:03 PM CST
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