We are so happy to see the back of January and welcome February. There are so many things to look forward to in February including Valentine’s Day, Pancake Day, birthdays and Spring! Now my children are a little older I knew they would enjoy some STEM experiments and we have tried a few over the last week. There are some really fun science experiments you can do at home and they never fail to delight my children. The first one we wanted to tell you about was the Heart Marshmallow Valentine STEM challenge I set the kids. You don’t need much equipment and it’s great for challenging young minds.
Heart Marshmallow Valentine STEM challenge equipment
Heart marshmallows
Dried spaghetti
Heart Marshmallow Valentine STEM challenge for kids
My children have both done a similar experiment at Cubs where they were provided with the marshmallows and dried spaghetti and tasked with building the tallest structure they could. This makes a great STEM challenge, combining science, technology engineering and maths. Not only do kids gets to become mini engineers, they can also practice their problem solving skills.
To give our STEM challenge for kids a Valentine twist we made sure we picked up some special Valentine themed marshmallows. You can use ordinary round marshmallows too but the kids loved the pink and white marshmallows we found at the supermarket.
I set out the ingredients on the table and set them a challenge of making a heart shaped structure using the spaghetti and heart marshmallows. They couldn’t wait to set to work designing their structures. I also found some smaller marshmallows and toothpicks in case they wanted to make smaller structures, and these came in handy once they had used up all the heart marshmallows.
They found it quite simple to engineer heart shapes with the small marshmallows and toothpicks. They quickly realised they could break the toothpicks and spaghetti into smaller pieces when they needed them.
The small heart-shaped structures where quite bendy so they tried to make bigger heart structures. It was great watching them build, break up their structures and try again. Not only were they developing their problem solving skills but they were also being creative and having a lot of fun together.
They soon went from their simple 2D shapes to more elaborate 3D shapes. I think that’s what makes this such a great activity for kids, that kids of all ages can join in and have some STEM fun!
My husband judged the children’s final designs. They had produced not only the heart-shapes structures I challenged them to build, they also had fun creating their own marshmallow super structures. Little Sis made her own version of the Eiffel Tower and Big Brother created the Tower of London, complete with marshmallow covered supporting cables.
Our Heart Marshmallow Valentine STEM challenge for kids was so easy to set up but kept the kids occupied for a good hour. Of course some of the marshmallows did end up being eaten along the way but that only added to the fun!
Let me know if you try it!
You may be interested in our other science experiments for kids:
Grow your own salt water crystals
Skittles vs Smarties experiment
How to dye white flowers with food colouring
Make your own watercolour snow paint
Dissolving candy cane experiment
