Fizzing Hearts

Last month we got an awesome set of fine motor tools to play with. Today’s fine motor activity also has some rather cool science to it!

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To set up, you will need:

Some paper
White school glue
Baking soda
Vinegar and container to put it in (we used a small glass jar)
Red food coloring (liquid ones)
Fine motor dropper

On your paper, make the shape of the hearts in glue and sprinkle well with baking soda. I do those on a tray so that I can tap off the loose baking soda and reuse it. Optionally leave it to dry for 2 hours.

While you can use it just like this, I found the almost dry hearts produced more fizz because of the more solid state.

Add a few drops of red food coloring to your vinegar. I just kind of eyeballed this one; I must have used 5-10 drops.

Set up your activity on a tray to contain overflow; this is food coloring and vinegar, which we use to dye color rice with! Even add some newspaper if you are rather concerned.

This activity is done by my preschooler, who (unlike my toddler) is more careful in his activities.

Add the vinegar to the center of the heart and watch it fizz!

It looks gorgeous, right?

My preschooler also discovered that with this dropper, it sucked up the vinegar slowly if he pressed gently on the bulb. This provided some more understanding of how this item sucks up the liquid, as he could see it going up the twisty part slowly. Almost as much fun as making those hearts fizz!