Valentine’s Day STEM activities for little ones

Spark a love for math this Valentine’s Day with these interactive STEM crafts from Mathnasium.

“There’s been recent studies that have come out showing that about 39% of eighth graders and 24% of fourth graders are performing below their grade level and that’s a really big concern,” said Hiba Saleem, a math instructor at Mathnasium’s Center City location.

One activity the kids can try is Cupid’s Sparkling Math Card Creations. Cut out heart shapes and incorporate equations inside the hearts for matching. It’s a creative way to practice counting, addition, and pattern recognition.

“It’s customizable for any grade level. You can incorporate fractions, multiplication, division, even algebra,” said Hiba.

How about a Candy Heart Launcher? Build a catapult using craft sticks to launch candy hearts. Measure how far the candy flies and experiment with angles to see how they affect the distance.

Finally, Glittery Heart Symmetry. Create sparkling heart art by folding paper and decorating both sides with glitter, stickers, and candy heart decals. This activity helps kids explore symmetry while making a fun Valentine’s card.

“That’s a really important concept that students are going to get a lot of exposure to in geometry so this is great foundation and practice for that,” said Hiba.

For more information about Mathnasium or to visit one of the locations, visit the website here.