Valentine's Science: Model Heart, Love Potion, and Dissolving Heart

*As featured on KSL Studio 5

Model Heart
What you'll need:
Mason jar
Water
Balloons-one large and one small
Scissors
Rubber bands
Two bendy straws

Here's how you do it:
1. Fill the mason jar about half full with water.
2. Cut off the neck of the large balloon.  Stretch the balloon over the top of the mason jar, securing with rubber bands.
3. Put two small holes in the top of the balloon.
4. Secure the small balloon to the top of one of the straws using a rubber band.
5. Put the straws through the small holes you made in the balloon.
6. Press down on the top of the balloon.  Water will come out of the straw that doesn't have a balloon secured on top of it.

• The pumping motion on the top of the balloon mimics how the heart pumps blood in our bodies.  The balloon on the straw works like the valves on the heart.  It opens when you press down on the other balloon, but closes when you release, causing the water to flow through the open straw.

Love Potion
What you'll need:
Baking soda
Vinegar
Red food coloring (optional)
Water
Clear bowl

Here's how you do it:
1. Using a little water, shape your baking soda into hearts.  If you want to, you can put a drop of food coloring in the center of the hearts.
2. Put vinegar in a clear bowl.  (Leave some room for the chemical reaction.)
3. Drop your baking soda hearts into the vinegar and watch your love potion bubble!

• When baking soda and vinegar mix, they cause a chemical reaction that creates water and carbon dioxide.  The carbon dioxide creates bubbles and rises!

Dissolving Heart
What you'll need:
Skittles
Warm water
Pie plate

Here's how you do it:
1. Arrange your skittles into a heart shape on your pie plate.
2. Carefully pour warm water over the skittles and observe as they dissolve.

• This is a density experiment.  The color on the skittles is more dense than the water, which makes the colors sink.  Each of the colors have a slightly different density, so the colors won't mix.