Simple STEM Activities for Valentine’s Day

Love and kindness are in the air! This year add some love for STEM to your Valentine’s Day lesson plans. If you’re thinking it sounds hard to make science, technology, engineering, and math activities a part of your Valentine’s Day activities, have no fear! I have done it for years and they are seriously some of the most looked forward to activities by my classes! And the best part is you can use them whether you are a technology teacher or not. These simple STEM activities are sure to be a favorite in your classroom too.

This simple STEM story activity for Valentine's Day is perfect for elementary students and teachers who want to incorporate a little STEM into the Valentine's season.

Setting the Mood

If you are like me and love all things STEM and Valentine’s Day, I have the perfect way to set the mood this Valentine’s Day. This adorable STEM Valentine’s Day shirt is the perfect addition to your Valentine’s Day wardrobe!

Then set the mood in the classroom with this adorable Valentine’s Day STEM bulletin board design. This bulletin board kit includes everything you need to recreate this board in your classroom. You can also use it to decorate your classroom door!

Just print, cut and display! Creating a cute bulletin board or door has never been so easy.

Fall in Love with STEAM bulletin board and door kit.

Simple STEM Story for Valentine’s Day

Now that we have shared the love for STEM and set the mood, it’s time to add some STEM fun to the Valentine’s Day lesson plans. One of my favorite Valentine’s Day activities combines STEM and reading. That’s a win!

Simple STEM Stories are hands-on STEM activities that align with a book. It’s a fantastic way to combine literacy with STEM learning. These activities are great to use with a whole group or as part of a center activity. These themed activities are a great way to encourage students to hypothesize and reflect on their challenges in thoughtful ways.

The Book

The book Love Monster and the Last Chocolate by Rachel Bright is the perfect way to kick off your simple STEM story activity. I love sitting my classes down on the floor to read this super cute story about sharing. Even my older students love to be read to.

After reading, we take some time to talk about the lesson the Love Monster learned. Then, take a minute or two to share about a time we had to make a difficult decision.

The Challenge

Next, it’s time to introduce the challenge. Design and create a chocolate box that the Love Monster could use to hold the chocolates.

This digital build a chocolates box is the perfect way to get your students practicing their technology skills while completing simple STEM activities for Valentine's Day

I like to ask my students to work collaboratively, but it’s also a STEM challenge your students could complete individually.

As with most building activities in the STEM Lab, there is no right or wrong when it comes to building materials. I love raiding the recycling bin when it is time for a building activity. Anything goes when it comes to designing. Some items I usually have available are newspaper, old boxes, plastic bottles, tape, pipe cleaners, and paper clips. You’d be amazed at what can be built with these items.

But, if you don’t have access to these or space, you can also have your students build digitally. This activity is available in both digital and hands-on formats. On the computer, your students can practice manipulating and resizing objects as they work to build their chocolate boxes.

Ask, Imagine, Plan, Create, Improve

I love using the design process in my classroom, and this simple STEM activity for Valentine’s Day gives me the perfect opportunity to use it again.

The design process is so amazing because students have the opportunity to work through the design process, test, and modify. It’s a great way to teach our students that failure is part of the process.

Reflection

The reflection process goes hand in hand with STEM learning and is a great way to get students to discuss their ideas and reflect on their successes and challenges.

This simple STEM story for Valentine’s Day includes worksheets or digital response sheets for students to record what happened during the process of completing the challenge.

I think it’s so important for students to understand that finishing a build for a challenge isn’t the end of the process. So much of the learning comes in the reflection part.

Celebrate Success

I love celebrating my students whenever they complete a challenge. Even if it wasn’t successful, I still want them to know that the process is sometimes more important than the outcome.

That’s why I LOVE using certificates and stickers like those in Valentine’s Day STEM challenge to celebrate my student’s success! I love watching the students wear their stickers with pride all day long. And when they get home, the stickers and certificates open the door for them to share their experience with their family too!

Valentine’s Day STEM Challenge Love Monster

Simple STEM Activities for Valentine’s Day are easy peasy with this Valentine’s Day STEM story. It’s not only adorable but also a super fun STEM Valentine’s Day themed activity your students will absolutely love.

More Valentine’s Fun For Everyone

Even if you aren’t a dedicated STEM teacher, or don’t have access to technology, there are so many fun Valentine’s Day activities available in the Miss Tech Queen store. Whether you are looking for a Valentine’s Day art project, coding, or some fun games, you can find it here.