Valentines STEM Art Projects for Toddlers and Kids

Valentines Day is a good excuse to get crafting, so we hope that these STEM art projects inspire you to use science and technology with your toddlers and kids. These projects will get children creating and enjoying and exploring STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths). These Valentines STEM art projects (or STEAM) for toddlers and kids are designed for Valentines Cards and decorations. However, they can also be adapted for other holidays or art projects.

I will have more detailed posts on these individual activities coming soon.

Valentines STEM Art Projects for Toddlers and Kids

Opposites Attract – Magnet Heart Painting

This art project is a fun way to get children exploring magnets and mixing colours. We used a large, strong magnet and screws for some of our paintings and an old Ikea Allan key for other ones. We used the magnet to move the metal pieces around to mix the paint. This is a fun way for children to see how magnets can attract metal objects, even through paper.

We have Good Chemistry – Baking Soda Fizzy Heart Painting

This painting activity is particularly fun for young children and is a great way to introduce them to chemical reactions. We mixed baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) into the paint. Then we sprinkled some more on top at the end for good measure. Then we sprayed our finished painting with vinegar and enjoyed the reaction.

Spread the Love – Chromatography Hearts

This is a very easy activity to decorate Valentine’s cards. Children can draw hearts or different shapes/patterns onto paper – Coffee filter paper works best. Soak one end of the paper in water or squeeze drops of water onto the paper to let the ink bleed. For the ink to separate into its different colour components, don’t put the water directly on to the ink. These can be used as decorations or cut out and made into cards.

Salt in their Veins- Watercolour Salt Hearts

Children can experiment with different amounts of paint and salt when painting with watercolours. They can see how different amounts of salt, paint or water and the order that they are placed on the paper change how the effect. These beautiful paintings can then be placed on cards.

Burst my Bubble – Bubble Painting Hearts

Children can explore bubbles with this art project. To do this, they blow bubbles in soapy water mixed with paint. After children have blown big bubbles overflowing the top of the cup, they hit them with paper to make them pop. I used about 2 parts dishwashing soap to 2 parts paint to one part water. You may need to play around with the proportions a bit if you have trouble making bubbles.

I will have more details about how to do these projects coming soon. In the meantime you may want to check out some of my other STEM and art posts such as Jelly Tot Tower and how to make salt dough beads.