We all love a good STEM activity, and we've found (and invented) five that are Valentine's-themed! Frozen baking soda hearts, a candy heart graph, marshmallow structures, rainbow skittles, and candy heart measurements. The skill levels range from toddlers through elementary. The first activity is the most beautiful but also the most work - the rest are super easy with just a few supplies required and almost no prep time! You probably have supplies at home (or at least can order through Target drive up) to make them today. Enjoy!
1. baking soda hearts
for toddlers and up
what you'll need:
baking soda
glitter
vinegar
food coloring or natural dye
️ice cube tray (heart-shaped if you can swing it)
dropper (if you have it)
plate, sensory table, whatever you've got to perform the experiment!
instructions:
❤️ In an ice mold (we used a heart one but regular cubes work too), add the baking soda, glitter, and water. Do not worry at all about the proportions - our 4 yr old did this completely independently - proof that it’s flexible!
❤️Put the mold in the freezer for a couple hours. They're ready when they’re completely frozen.
❤️Get your vinegar mix ready! Mix white vinegar with some red food coloring or any natural red dye.
❤️ Ask your kids to guess what might happen when you put the vinegar onto the cubes.
❤️ In a sensory table (or just on a plate as seen in the top picture!) place one or more cubes down and use a dropper (or a small cup or spoon, whatever you’ve got!) to drop the vinegar onto the heart - listen and watch for what happens.
❤️ Talk about the acid-base reaction! Ask them a few questions! What did you hear? (fizz) What did you see? (bubbles) Why? (The reaction between the acid and base causes a transformation - partly into carbon dioxide… a gas… which rises to the top in little bubbles!)
2. candy hearts graph
for preschool and up
what you'll need:
free worksheet (this one is from TPT but you can find them all over the internet)
candy hearts
instructions:
❤️ Print the worksheet. Pass it out to your kids and explain what we're doing.
❤️Pass out a few handfuls of hearts (like over 50 hearts) to each kid.
❤️First have them sort the hearts along the vertical lines.
❤️ Once they're done sorting, ask them question.
How many of each color do you have?
Which color do you have the most of?
Which color do you have the least of?
How many more of one color do you have than another color?
❤️ That's the end. Nobody will want to eat the hearts after they try one. LOL :)
3. marshmallow structures
for preschool and up
what you'll need:
a container of toothpicks
a bag of heart shaped marshmallows (purchased from Target)
instructions:
❤️ Hand the kids the toothpicks.
❤️Hand the kids the marshmallows.
❤️Let them free build. If they are younger, you may have to explain how they can get the structure to support itself. But it seems that once they're of a certain age (maybe 5?) they'll just figure it out through trial and error. Or they'll just sit there eating all the marshmallows. Or they'll do a little of both. Either way, they will love it!
Picture of Emily being SO excited to catch on (at the very end!).
4. rainbow heart skittles
for toddlers and up
what you'll need:
a bag of skittles (we found one that is 'valentine's colors' but if you're committed to a color scheme, you can also pick through any bag)
a plate
warm water
instructions:
❤️ Hand the kids the plates.
❤️Hand the kids the skittles. Ask them to make a heart outline. (Our 4 year old made a circle that we helped adjust to a heart.)
❤️One the heart is ready, pour warm water SLOWLY into the middle of the heart. Pour only until it reaches about halfway up the skittles.
❤️Wait for the magic. It's not instant... be patient!
5. candy heart measurements
for elementary age kids
what you'll need:
candy hearts
a ruler
a pencil
valentine worksheet (below for free! we made this one!)
instructions:
❤️ Hand out the worksheets, pencils, and rulers.
❤️Hand out a handful of hearts.
❤️Let them get to work!
Hope you enjoyed all the ways to incorporate STEM into your Valentine's fun! Don't forget to message or tag us with any feedback - we love to hear from you!
Comments