Ages 3-4
Have fun this Valentine’s day creating playdough hearts with this colorful DIY playdough. Snap some photos of your child’s creations to share as virtual valentines.
If you have more candy than you know what to do with, try this experiment with your little ones. Shape your skittles into a heart for a special Valentine’s Day twist. Sometimes playing with food is inevitable, but with sweet science comes knowledge!
This is a fun project to explore with preschoolers, just be extremely careful with the magnets! Kids will love to explore and experiment how the different heart pieces snap together or push each other apart.
Ages 5-8
Help your child write secret love notes to friends and family and then show them how decode it with any source of heat – like a candle or an incandescent light bulb!
Get a little messy and explore the science behind what Valentine’s Day is really about – the heart! Of course, the action of a real heart is much more complicated than this simple model, but your heart really is a pump!
Is it possible to eat a piece of chocolate from a chocolate bar and still have the same amount you did before you ate the piece? Download this sweet printable to find out and mix a little math into your V-Day celebrations.
This is a great project for outdoor play and experimentation. It’s amazing how a few household craft items can be transformed into a bow and arrow. Once you’ve built your bow, tape a few paper hearts to a tree or wall for some festive target practice!
Ages 9+
This card is sure to be the highLIGHT of your Valentine’s day! Conductive paint makes this an easy, but impressive, circuitry project.
Explore the physics of projectiles, but make it festive! Try swapping out your traditional confetti mix for some pink, red, and heart-shaped flakes for a sure-fire way to put some love in the air.
Challenge your child to combine art and engineering to make a light-up flower pencil! This homemade creation is a perfect gift for the writer in your child’s life.
10 Sweet & Sciencey Valentine’s Day Projects
Valentine’s Day is known for sharing chocolates and declarations of love, but there’s no reason we can’t add a little science into the mix! Check out this list of festive, Cupid-approved science projects to keep your kids engaged and inspired this Valentine’s Day.