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STEM Valentines

Valentine's Day can spark of love of learning in your children and their friends. Try one of these fun Valentine's Day cards below! Have fun making valentines this year and engage your child in STEM at the same time!

Scratch Off Valentines

These super fun valentines will allow your child to create their own valentines without breaking your bank (or your patience). All you need is cardstock, clear contact paper, paint brush, dish soap, and acrylic paint. You can visit Buggy and Buddy for a great template. She uses scratch off stickers. However, you can engineer your own scratch off stickers to bring STEM into the project.

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ENGINEERING:

Print or design valentines on cardstock. Cut to desired size. Be sure to include a “surprise” message you plan to cover with your stickers.
Lay clear contact paper flat with clear side up and sticky side down. LEAVE ON the paper on the sticky side. You may want to consider taping it down to ensure it doesn’t curl up.
On a disposable plate/bowl, combine 1 part dish soap (any kind) with 2 parts acrylic paint (metallic gold or silver works the best).
Paint the contact paper with the paint and soap mixture and let dry. Consider 2 coats for maximum coverage. This transforms the contact paper into scratch off stickers.
Cut the contact paper into the shapes/sizes you want your stickers for your valentines.
Remove the paper backing from the contact paper and place them over the “surprise” message on the cardstock valentine.

MATH: Consider helping your child measure each and talk about adding amounts proportionally. What would happen if they were not added proportionally?

SCIENCE: Mixing the acrylic paint with the dish soap is important because the weakens the bonds of the paint. When acrylic paint dries, It essentially forms plastic. However, when mixed with dish soap, the paint does not dry the same. It is flexible and easily scratched off of the smooth contact paper. Try experimenting with a section of contact paper. Paint one part with just paint and another part with paint mixed with dish soap. What does your child notice? Does just paint work?

TECHNOLOGY: Teach your child how to download a template and print it on their own. OR Allow your child to design their own valentine template using clip art and other graphic design elements. I particularly love these joke valentines from C.R.A.F.T.

Color Changing Valentines

Thermochromic paper is a SUPER fun way to incorporate STEM into Valentine’s Day celebrations. I found these fun bookmarks from Inspiration Laboratories. I also thought these hand print valentines from More from minouette on Etsy would delight kids of all ages. You can buy thermochromic paper HERE.

SCIENCE: The surface of thermochromic paper, or heat sensitive paper, is coated with a very thin layer of dye. When it is heated, even just from your hand, the dye changes color through a chemical reaction of acids and bases. Because chemical reactions cannot be reversed, the hand print is permanent. Other sources of heat can also spark the thermochromic paper to react. Try quickly swiping a finger nail or pencil eraser across the paper. What happens? Why? (Hint: friction produces heat.)

TECHNOLOGY: Try running a piece of thermochromic paper through your printer. What happens? What about through a copy machine? What can this tell you about how your printer works?

ENGINEERING: Make your own thermochromic paper or design! You can mix thermochromic ink with clear paint base to make your own design. You can find a variety of inks on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/slp/thermochromic-ink/ymzcxavsgref9ap) and any transparent paint base will work as a mixer. I like this one HERE.

MATH: Hold your hand on the paper. How long does it take to change colors?

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