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Valentine’s Day Cards – Science Secret Messages

January 11, 2015

The 31 Days of Love series continues.. can’t believe that we are already on Day 11! If you are unfamiliar with this series… it is a an annual series for the beginning of the year – when I invite my fellow bloggers from around the world to share the LOVE! Each day, we have a new person share a lovely LOVE post – ideal for Valentine’s Day too of course, but also something you can make all year round with your kids or for yourself! Today we have a great addition to our Valentine’s Day Science Activities!

 Plenty of inspiration for everyone of all ages – whether you are looking for Valentine Crafts for Preschoolers, Valentine Day Treats, Valentine Decorations and Valentine Cards for Kids… browse away and enjoy!

Over to Emma from Science Sparks! Full 31 Days of Love here!

I’m very exciting to be guest posting on Red Ted Art today. I’ve been reading Maggy’s blogs for many years now and love how she can turn the simplest materials into such inspiring crafts, we especially love her toilet roll creations.

Valentines Day Cards - fun with science (1)

How to Write Secret Messages

Today I’m going to show you how to write secret messages with crayon and lemon/lime juice.

How to Make Invisible Ink

What you need:

  • Half a lemon or lime
  • Water
  • Spoon
  • Bowl
  • Cotton bud or paint brush
  • White paper
  • Oven

Method

Squeeze out the lemon or lime into a bowl and stir.

Dip your paintbrush into the lemon/lime juice and write your message on the paper.

Leave to dry.

To reveal your message you need to apply a source of heat, we found placing in the oven for a few minutes worked the best ( ask an adult to help ).

Can you read your message?

Valentines Day Cards - fun with science (2)

Extension activities

Think about what would make the perfect invisible ink. Does it need to be invisible before heating?

Try writing messages with lemon and lime juice to see which works the best, what happens if you dilute them with water? Can you make the perfect invisible ink?

How about trying orange juice, milk or vinegar?

Why does this happen?

Lemon and lime juice oxidize (which means they react with oxygen) and turn brown when heated. The invisible ink burns faster than the paper so it turns brown first, allowing you to see it.

Crayon Resist Message

Another great way to write a secret message is to use a white crayon and then colour over the top with different colour crayons to reveal the message.

What you need

  • White paper
  • Crayons
Method
 Valentines Day Cards - fun with science (3)
Write your message on the white paper using the white crayon, you’ll need to press down hard and go over it a couple of times.
Crayon lightly over the top to reveal the message.
Valentines Day Cards - fun with science (4)

Why does this happen

The thick waxy crayon resists the colouring over the top allowing you to see the message.

If you choose to paint over the message the crayon repels the water based paint, again allowing you to see the message.

Extension Activities

What happens if you use use water based paint instead of crayon to reveal the message.

Would a wax candle work better than white crayon?

Valentines Day Cards - fun with science (1)

 

For more fun science activities you can follow Science Sparks on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest.

Science-Sparks-Header-Image-1140

Emma gets her inspiration from her three children, the questions they ask and games they play. She spends her days drinking too much coffee, attempting to exercise and blogging as much as possible before school run time.

Other Valentine Science Ideas

DSC_0156-1024x682 DSC_1455-1024x685 magic-science-258x300

Make a simple stethoscope and listen to your heart beat.

Learn about transpiration and make some pretty coloured flowers.

Entertain your loved one with some science magic.

Fancy some more Valentine’s Day Science Ideas? Take a look at these easy to do and implement projects! LOVE:

STEAM Valentines Activities

Great STEAM Ideas for Valentine’s Day! Nurturing Little Thinkers!

If you are looking for more Valentine’s Day Cards ideas? Here is a list of last year’s 31 Days of Love Cards!

14 Valentine's Day Cards for Kids to Make

Valentines Day Crafts, Activities and Ideas

And here is another version of the Secret Message Valentine’s!

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Filed Under: Art with Kids, Card making, Valentines 7 Comments

Trackbacks

  1. 30 DIY Valentine's Day Ideas for Kids says:
    January 14, 2015 at 11:50 pm

    […] Fun and Easy Secret Messages via Red Ted Art […]

    Reply
  2. Valentine Science Activities says:
    January 17, 2015 at 10:34 am

    […] could even write secret messages for your […]

    Reply
  3. Code Cracking - Pirate theme says:
    February 8, 2015 at 9:38 am

    […] you write secret messages using lemon juice or white […]

    Reply
  4. Pirate Treasure Hunt says:
    February 21, 2015 at 8:28 am

    […] Do create the crayon resist secret message I just used a white crayon to write on white cardboard, you’ll need to press down very hard and go over it a few times for it to work, like in this guest post we did for Red Ted Art. […]

    Reply
  5. Pirate Treasure Hunt says:
    February 21, 2015 at 8:28 am

    […] To create the crayon resist secret message I just used a white crayon to write on white cardboard, you’ll need to press down very hard and go over it a few times for it to work, like in this guest post we did for Red Ted Art. […]

    Reply
  6. Fun Science Valentine Cards for Kids — App Reviews says:
    January 13, 2016 at 3:49 pm

    […] make your own science valentine card, you will like this secret message Valentine card. It is easy to make, even young children can do […]

    Reply
  7. Ingenious School Valentine Ideas For Classmates and Friends says:
    January 2, 2018 at 10:47 pm

    […] Secret Message Valentines […]

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