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Challenge: Be My Valentine

5 STEAM Related Valentine's Day Projects

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In our house any opportunity to add learning into the mix is a good one. I love the ability to bring anything related to science, math or engineering to a holiday so that my girls can realize science is something that is always around us.

These are my top five easy and simple projects that show how love, art and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) make February 14th even more fun. Check them out and let me know what you think!

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  1. 3D Love: The ability to design something and 3D print it is so cool! Many schools are using both of these technologies to help kids of all ages learn. What about making a really easy heart bookmark with Tinkercad and then 3D printing it?
  2. LED Robot Kissies: Another simple way expose kids to STEM is to use a few LEDs, simple batteries and their favorite robot image to connect more love. LED Kissies are ”kissing robots” reduced to their essential parts: an LED, a battery, a strong magnet and (optionally) some card with a picture. They are easy and fast to make and pretty low cost.
  3. Custom GIFs for Your Sweetie: Everyone loves the opportunity create digital valentine's and this is the best for any budding coder or animator. Even if you’re not an animator, we want to help you make your drawings come to life. Watch the following video to learn how to create your animations, or keep reading for the text version of the tutorial.
  4. Cooking with the Ones You Love: It should be obvious but cooking is always fun and a great way to learn. I always have my girls help me make breakfast in bed for their dad. Sure the kitchen may need an extra cleaning but seeing the girls measure the ingredients it a real treat. Looking for inspiration, check out these recipes!
  5. Love-o-Meter: For the advanced makers, turn your Arduino into a love machine! Use a temperature sensor to measure your skin temperature, and register how hot you really are. Details here!

So these are a range of projects depending on your level but fun enough for parents to do with their kids on the weekend or perhaps a teacher to use with their class. What ever you look into trying just remember that creativity and science make cupid blush anytime!

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