This Dissolving Candy Hearts Experiment is perfect for STEM Valentine’s Day fun! Not only that, but you can use up some of that leftover candy so it’s not just sitting around the house, begging you to eat it! Only four simple supplies are needed to get started, and what child doesn’t love learning with candy?!

Make sure to also check out How to Make Heart Crystals for another great science activity for the kids.

It never fails that every year, we find ourselves up to our ears in delicious candy hearts. And while you can eat and enjoy them for a while, there comes a point where there is still some left to figure out what to do with. This is where this fun candy hearts activity is perfect! The kids will be able to use up those hearts and learn at the same time! And what kid doesn’t enjoy learning when you add food or candy to the lesson. A gummy bear experiment to help learn about osmosis is a fun one too!

If you love STEM activities, be sure to check out my Growing Crystals into Beautiful Rainbows project, too!

This activity is SUPER simple and fun. They’ll feel like a real scientist during the process with how they make actual hypotheses and more!

SUPPLIES NEEDED TO MAKE DISSOLVING CANDY HEARTS

6 cups water
½ cup sugar, divided
½ cup salt, divided
6 candy hearts
printable chart for recording your results/findings

HOW TO MAKE THIS DISSOLVING CANDY HEARTS EXPERIMENT

Place 1 cup of water into three different cups. Into one cup, add ¼ cup sugar, stirring until it is dissolved. Into the second cup, add ¼ cup salt, stirring until dissolved.

Heat the remaining 3 cups of water until hot.

Place 1 cup of hot water into three different cups. Into one cup, add ¼ cup sugar, stirring until it is dissolved. Into the second cup, add ¼ cup salt, stirring until dissolved.

Place one candy heart into each cup of water. Set a timer for 2 minutes.

When the timer goes off, check the candy hearts and make notes of which have changed.

Continue checking the candy hearts every 2 to 5 minutes, making note of the changes.

Discuss which liquids caused the candy hearts to dissolve faster/slower and why.

Fun Ways To Change Up This Valentine’s Day Candy Science Experiment

You can easily redo this experiment by using different liquids to see what happens. Try it with dish soap, vegetable oil, vinegar, and even soda!

Have the kids make their guesses and then track what happens. This is a simple way to extend the activity for more educational fun.