Spreading Love Through STEM: Valentine's activities for kids and parents
Are you ready to celebrate Valentine’s day in a unique and memorable way this year? Show your kids how much you love them by incorporating the power of STEM into your celebrations. Get ready for some hands-on, heart-warming fun as we take you on a journey through the world of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
Love-Themed Science Experiments:
For a fun and simple Valentine’s Day science experiment, try the “Heartbeat in a Jar”. Fill a clear glass jar ⅓ of the way with water, add a few drops of food colouring to make it red or pink, slowly pour in vegetable oil until the jar is almost full, and then drop in pieces of an Alka-Seltzer tablet. As the tablet reacts with the water to create a carbon dioxide gas, a “heartbeat” effect will be created by the gas getting trapped in the oil. This experiment is a great way to make learning for your children fun and interactive, whilst also showcasing the ways that chemical reactions work.
DIY Valentine’s Day Card Using Technology:
Bring love to life with a touch of technology! With a few tech supplies, your child can create a one-of-a-kind Valentine’s day card for their loved ones. Introduce them to the world of technology with Scratch and watch their imagination come to life. The possibilities for creating a unique and personalised Valentine's card are endless. Scratch is a great tool for children to learn programming concepts that will serve them well in the future and develop their creativity.
Click here for step-by-step instructions to create a Scratch Valentines card
Build A Heart-Shaped Structure:
Building a heart-shaped structure is a fun and interactive way to bring Valentine's celebrations to life! With just toothpicks and mini marshmallows, your child can spread the love by creating a sweet and sturdy heart shape. Connecting two marshmallows with a toothpick to create a triangle, and repeating this process will lead to a heart-shaped structure in no time. Encourage your kids to let their creativity and imagination run free, by experimenting with different heart sizes. Not only will they have fun creating their heart-filled creations, but they will also be developing engineering and problem-solving skills along the way.
Make A Heart-Shaped Puzzle:
Get ready for a heart-filled adventure with your children this Valentine’s Day! To create a heart that is as unique as your love, you will need a piece of cardboard, a pencil, scissors, and some colourful pens or paint. Start by drawing a big, beautiful heart shape on the cardboard and then get ready to get snipping with the scissors as you carefully cut it into smaller puzzle pieces. Let your child unleash their creativity as they decorate each piece with markers or paint. Once the pieces are dry, mix them up and challenge your kids to put the heart back together. Not only will this brings lots of laughs and love, but it will also sharpen their problem-solving and creative skills. There will be no broken hearts this Valentine's day!
Valentine’s Math Challenge:
Test your child's Maths skills this Valentine's day! Begin by giving kids heart-shaped cutouts to arrange from smallest to largest. Once they have successfully completed, test their problem-solving skills by asking them to measure the average size of each heart shape they have been given. Create excitement along the way by giving prizes or even Valentine’s chocolates to reward great math skills like measurement, data analysis, and problem-solving!
