<link href="//maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.0/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet" id="bootstrap-css"> <script src="//maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.0/js/bootstrap.min.js"></script> <script src="//code.jquery.com/jquery-1.11.1.min.js"></script> <!------ Include the above in your HEAD tag ----------> <div id="text"><span>The intergalactic space agency</span></div>

#text { width: 0px; height: 2em; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; }

var spanWidth = $('#text span').width(); $('#text').animate( { width: spanWidth }, 3000 );