Melting a Metal Robot: Chemistry Science Experiment

Watch as Museum Educator Locke demonstrates a mind-blowing science experiment with Gally, a robot made entirely of gallium that melts before your eyes! 🤖🔥

At first glance, Gally looks like a regular shiny metal robot, but she's actually made of pure gallium—a metal with an unusually low melting point of just 86°F (30°C). That means it can start turning from a solid to a liquid just from the warmth of your hands!

In this experiment, Locke places Gally into boiling water, causing the weak bonds in the gallium to break apart, turning her into a puddle of liquid metal. But don’t worry—by using liquid nitrogen, we can cool Gally down and restore her solid form. Just like that, Gally is back!

🔬 What You'll Learn in This Experiment:

✔️ Why gallium melts at such a low temperature

✔️ How metal bonds break apart and reform

✔️ The surprising properties of liquid metal