Valentine's Day STEM Centers
Celebrate the day of love while fostering a love of learning with all thing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math)! Get ready to spark curiosity, inspire creativity, and make this Valentine's Day an unforgettable experience for learners of all ages with Valentine’s Day STEM Centers.
Why STEM centers?
STEM centers expose students to a lot of different ideas, materials, and challenges in a short amount of time. These challenges keep the attention of students and allow them to pick up those valuable STEM skills little by little as they work through each challenge.
STEM centers also give students the flexibility to work independently or with a partner or small group.
How to use STEM Centers:
Each center can be used as a whole class STEM challenge or you may choose the activities you want students to complete and have them rotate through the activities as centers. If you are doing these challenges as centers we recommend students work for 10-15 minutes per center.
Valentine’s Day STEM Centers are the perfect resource for elementary classrooms, school-wide STEM nights, STEM Clubs, and Valentine's Day Parties!
12 Valentine’s Day STEM Centers
1.) Heart Domino Chain Reaction
2.) Heart Anatomy Playdough Studio
3.) Binary Code Bracelets
4.) Love Bug Dice Workshop
5.) Heart Weight Comparison Lab
6.) Crayon Resist Art Studio
7.) Chain of Hearts
8.) Heart Tower Engineering
9.) Valentine’s Day Creativity Challenges
10.) Love Boat Engineering
11.) Heart Engineering
12.) Valentine’s Day Card Creator
1. Heart Domino Chain Reaction
In this STEM center, students explore chain reactions using dominoes. For more of a challenge see if students can form their chain reaction in the shape of a heart. As students explore this STEM center they experience not only the joy of building, but also the fascinating principles of physics and engineering.
2. Heart Anatomy Play Dough Studio
In this Valentine’s Day play dough STEM center, students learn about what their heart looks like. As they place their play dough on the different sections of the mat, they also explore the different parts and functions of the heart.
3. Heart Binary Code Bracelets
In this STEM center, students create unique binary code bracelets. In this hands-on experience, students craft heart-shaped binary code bracelets, translating their initials into the language of ones and zeros.
4. Love Bug Dice Workshop
Get ready for students to create their own unique love bug. For this center students practice counting and number sense as they roll a die to decide each component of their love bug (body type, color, etc.).
5. Heart Weight Comparison Lab
Get ready to engage your students’ problem solving and estimation skills with this heart weight comparison lab! Students will draw one of the cards and make a prediction about which item is heavier. Then, students will test their prediction by the placing the items on the balance.
6. Crayon Resist Art Studio
At this STEM center, students will use their creativity to complete some crayon resist creations. First, students will write a secret message using white crayon on a paper heart. Then, they will use water colors to reveal the secret message.
7. Chain of Hearts
In this center, students will use their problem solving skills to create the longest chain of paper hearts. Give students a piece of construction paper. Students will cut the paper into strips and arrange them in the form of a heart chain with the goal of creating the longest paper chain.
8. Heart Tower Engineering
At this STEM center, students will use their engineering skills to build the tallest tower using hearts and popsicle sticks. For this challenge we recommend using wide popsicle sticks. For the hearts students can use conversation hearts. If you can’t use food in the classroom or you want a reusable option we recommend using wooden heart beads.
9. Valentine’s Day Creativity Challenges
In this center, students will use their creativity to transform Valentine’s Day images into other objects.
10. Love Boat Engineering
Can your students build a boat that can float the most weight? For this STEM center students must create a boat using tin foil, straws, and tape that can hold the most weight. Once students complete their boats have them test each boat by placing it in a tub of water and filling it with heart beads or other weights.
11. Heart Engineering
At this STEM center, students will use their engineering skills to build as many different hearts as they can. To build their hearts students can use non-consumable building materials such as LEGO bricks, pattern blocks, or magnetic tiles.
12. Valentine’s Day Card Creator
Challenge your students to spread the love this Valentine’s Day by creating cards for others. Students can create regular cards or put their engineering skills to the test by creating pop-up cards.
Get ready to invite your students into an engaging learning experience with these hands-on Valentine’s Day themed STEM Centers!
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