Dancing Conversation Hearts
Dancing Conversation Hearts Science Experiment
The holidays always present fun opportunities for hands-on science learning. We’ve created an exciting new downloadable science kit that uses the iconic Valentine’s Day candy to teach kids about density and chemical reactions through experimentation and observation. Get the free printable kit to add STEM learning to your February homeschool plans! Before we dive in, please take a moment to pin this post to your homeschool board.
Dancing Conversation Heart Experiment Educational Benefits
Conducting these conversation heart experiments provides many educational benefits for early STEM learning, including:
Observing chemical reactions: Kids directly see how the ingredients interact and bubble. The hands-on experience cements understanding.
Density comparisons: Children observe how objects move through liquids of different densities. This lays the foundation for later lessons.
Following the scientific method: Your mini scientists will practice observation, forming hypotheses, experimentation, and analysis.
Improving concentration and patience: Carefully watching the hearts dance slowly over minutes boosts valuable skills.
Cultivating curiosity and wonder: The delight and surprise the experiments create feed kids’ interest in science and how the world works.
And the sweet candy they get to handle doesn’t hurt either!
Dancing Conversation Hearts Supplies
- 8 (more optional) Conversation hearts or hard candy of some sort
- One can of fresh, clear soda (Sprite, 7 Up, or Seltzer)
- 2 cups or glasses
- A container (optional)
- Water
- 1tbs Baking Soda
- White Vinegar
Conversation Hearts Density Experiment in Action
Conversation Hearts Density Experiment Instructions
Part 1 Soda Dancing
- Fill the glass nearly to the top with the fresh soda.
- Take the four or more conversation hearts and drop them, one at a time, into the soda.
- What happens when you drop the hearts into the soda? Write down your observations in your journal.
- Watch the soda for a few seconds.
- What happens to the conversation hearts shortly after they’ve been dropped into the soda?
Write down your observations in your journal. - Watch the soda for at least five more minutes.
- What happens to the conversation hearts in the soda over time?
Write down your observations in your journal.

Part 2 Vinegar and Baking Soda Dancing
- Fill the glass half full of water.
- Mix one teaspoon of baking soda.
- Add the conversation hearts.
- What happens to the conversation hearts in the water and baking soda? Write down your observations in your journal.
- Slowly add white vinegar until the glass is nearly full.
- Do the conversation hearts “dance” in the baking soda and vinegar mixture? Why do you think this happens? Record your observations in your journal.

Free Download
Dancing Heart Science Kit
How the Density Experiment works
We dropped conversation hearts into a glass of freshly poured, carbonated soda in this experiment. The conversation hearts are denser than soda. Remember when we observed density in different liquids? Because the conversation hearts are denser than the soda, they should have quickly thumped to the bottom of the glass. You notice they slowly rise as you observe them for a few minutes. Because those carbon dioxide bubbles in the soda stuck to the candies, they were lifted through the soda once enough soda bubbles accumulated on the candy. Once the conversation hearts are at the top, the carbon dioxide bubbles escape into the air, which causes the candy hearts to sink again. The process starts again, causing the hearts to go up and down and appear dancing. Baking Soda and White Vinegar also create carbon dioxide gas, creating the same effect.
