We have way too many of those candy hearts from Valentine’s Day. I decided to pull a few out for some candy learning activities this week, including an easy to set up candy heart experiment.
To set up for the experiment, I labeled 4 clear glasses: hot water, water, vinegar, and vinegar and baking soda.
Then I asked the kindergartner and preschooler for their hypothesis on which of the 4 liquids would dissolve the candy hearts the fastest.
The preschooler thought that vinegar and baking soda would; the kindergartner chose vinegar.
Then I carefully filled each glass with its labeled liquid. (Make sure you use a container that can hold hot liquids!) The kids took turns dropping in one candy heart per glass.
Right away the one with baking soda and vinegar had their attention! The candy heart was hidden amid the bubbling and fizzing mixture.
To speed up the process, we tried stirring each glass carefully. 
The kids were surprised by the results; the hot water dissolved the candy heart much faster than any of the other 3 containers!
After our candy science experiment, we revisited our past candy heart activities, and used the candy hearts to work on patterns, and even did some simple addition facts using the candy hearts as manipulatives.
Of course, using them for subtraction, and eating them as we went, was the biggest hit!
Cristyl @ CHill Thoughts says
What fun activities! I wasn’t sure which glass would dissolve the heart first; I was thinking the preschooler had the right guess…
-Cristyl
OneMommy says
So did I! LOL. Learn something every day!
Jessica says
I love your experiment idea! I teach high school science and showing children these skills at a young age is so important – especially the graphing portion! #BYB100
OneMommy says
Thank you! They just love doing science experiments at home, and I enjoy keeping that interest alive!
TaMara says
I love this experiment! I’ve pinned it to try with my small people next year since we don’t have any candy hearts now.
OneMommy says
Thank so much for pinning it!
Emma @ P is for Preschooler says
And you can pick these up really cheap right now, after Valentine’s Day! Bonus!
OneMommy says
Love those after holiday specials!
Melanie Wilson says
What a great scientific approach! I bet the kids loved this. My kids would love anything to do with candy. lol Thanks for stopping by Psychowith6.
Lauren says
Ha, I was wrong too! I love the idea, and I assume it would work on other types of candy? Could be a good one for Halloween.
OneMommy says
We have so much Halloween candy left over… I’m thinking we are going to try it on a few other candies this week! 😉
Bekki @a better way to homeschool says
This one made me laugh a bit. My boys are “pink a phobics”. With a house full of testosterone I can always tell when I have crossed over their boy line.
Candy hearts are one of those triggers. I have to have them do this just for fun!
Thank you for sharing:)
OneMommy says
Oh! Have fun crossing that pink line! 🙂
Lauralee Moss says
We have tons of these sitting around. This looks simple and fun. Thanks for the idea.
OneMommy says
Love science activities that are simple and don’t require much set up!
Lauralee Moss says
Yeah – no set up is key! I try to keep the prep time at a minimum!
OneMommy says
Good use for candy no one likes! In our case we have probably 6-7 boxes of those candy hearts and the kids just don’t need to eat all of them. Got to think of more things to do with them!
Janelle Knutson says
I have some candy hearts left over from Valentines Day and was just going to toss them. Can’t wait to try out this experiment with my kids. Thank you for the idea. Stopping over from the Hearts for Home Blog Hop.
OneMommy says
Thank you so much for stopping by! Enjoy your experiment!
Grace @ Eats Amazing says
This looks so much fun! I’ll definitely give this a go with my little one! Pinned 🙂
Carrie Groneman says
GREAT idea!! Stopping by from Block Party
Rachel says
We have some of those candy hearts leftover, too…may have to try some of these out! Thanks for linking up to the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Party. I have pinned your post to the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Board.
OneMommy says
Thank you so much for pinning it! I’m looking forward to finding more science/learning projects to do with those hearts before we get all the Easter candy!
Lauralee Moss says
We did this today. Thanks so much for the idea – my five year old loved it! Our hot water dissolved it the best as well.
OneMommy says
So glad you got to try it! 🙂
Jennifer @ Generation iKid says
Terrific idea! Thanks for sharing on the Kids Co-Op, which I host on my site along with other bloggers. I’m pinning this one 🙂
Jennifer @ Generation iKid
OneMommy says
I may just need to get some gummy bears….LOL. I wonder how long it takes them to dissolve since they grow when they are wet….
Kristine Foley says
Great idea and would be so easy and enjoyable for my girls I’m sure! I’m so stingy about my hearts tho, they’re my favorite 🙂 Thanks for linkin up to Sunday FUNday!
The Fairy and The Frog says
Great experiment. Thanks for joining in the monday parenting pin it party.