Valentine’s Day in elementary school was always so fun. Sharing Valentines, stuffing your face with chocolates, a big class party and everything had a red and pink theme to it the whole day. Then, middle school comes around and it all comes to a screeching halt. A bit of a bummer, right? It doesn’t have to be that way! You can still celebrate Valentine’s Day in your middle school science classroom. “But what about the standards?! My pacing guide?!” Don’t worry, I’ve got you. Here are some Valentine’s Day science activities for middle school that you can do to spread the love and keep that holiday excitement alive.
Food Labs
Middle schoolers love food. They love snacks, candy and anything that involves food in class is usually a win. If you can find a food lab for a topic you’re teaching, Valentine’s Day is the perfect day to do it. Bonus points if the food is pink or red.
Cells: Edible cell models with candy representing organelles.
Mitosis/Meiosis: Oreos and sprinkles to model the division process.
Plate Tectonics: Model plate boundaries with graham crackers, frosting and fruit roll ups.
Teaching
Moon Phases: Model the lunar cycle with Oreos. You can grab a free lab here.
Changes in States of Matter: Make ice cream in a bag.
Heat Transfer (conduction, convection, radiation): Make s’mores with the three different types of heat transfer.
You can find more examples of food labs I love here.
Eco-Friendly Valentines
Have your students bring in recyclable materials and create eco-friendly Valentine’s for their friends or family. You can tie this into a lesson about human impact and how important it is to love the Earth and be kind to it. You could even have students make Valentine’s for the Earth and hand them around your classroom or hallway.
Cupid’s Catapults
Have students design catapults with supplies like popsicle sticks and bottle caps. You can discuss energy transformations that occur when using catapults. This STEM activity would allow for students to critically think about potential and kinetic energy in order to make sure their catapults are effective. You could even take them outside to test them out.
A day for the Heart
Dedicate the day to learning all about the heart and the circulatory system.
- Have students make 3D heart models with play dough or modeling clay. Make it a STEM activity and have students try to create a working, pumping model of the heart using recycled materials.
- Measure and compare heart rates during different types of activity.
- Have students do a choice project about the circulatory system or the heart.
Valentine’s Day Slime
Yes, this one is messy but you can use this activity to teach concepts like density and states of matter.
Valentines Day Stations
Take the normal content you are teaching and find a way to make it Valentine’s Day themed with stations. Your students are probably going to be a little more excited than usual because of the holiday, so why not channel that energy into an activity that requires movement? These Valentine’s Day Science Stations Lab Activities include 8 different stations that spiral reviews middle school science content (life science, physical science and Earth/space science). Students spend 6-8 minutes at a station and then move on to the next at the sound of a timer. Each station includes a science topic with a Valentine’s Day theme. Check out the stations here.
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