The holiday of love does not have to be just about romance and candy. If you want to do something different to celebrate this year, a science-themed Valentine's day party has all the "elements" of fun you'll need! I can't zinc of a better theme! Create a love lab and fill the room with "Experimental" decor, inspired by the science of love. Set up hands-on scientific stations with simple experiments covering a variety of principles and incorporating hearts, red, pink, and other traditional Valentine's Day elements! From candy hearts to fizzy heart shapes, there are endless possibilities! Let the testing begin! You'll love the reaction!
I started by creating a laboratory that celebrated love! Using a palette of traditional pinks, reds and whites and adding a unique, fun pop of purple and lavender.
My little scientists were given a Kid's Lab Coat and a pair of Rainbow Safety Goggles to use while creating chemical reactions!
I set the scene with a love potion bubbling over with balloons and a Happy Valentines Day sign using periodic table elements. You can recreate this fun DIY Valentines Laboratory of Love at home by following the instructions HERE.
I set up a dessert table under the bubbling love potion. In the center of the table I added a DIY Valentines Love Molecule as an eye-catching (or mole-cool!) centerpiece. Get all the details for creating your own HERE, or let older children make one themselves as a fun S.T.E.M project.
Have some fun with desserts. Serve them up using a variety of laboratory equipment. The Economy Beaker Set has a variety of sizes for mini or full size cupcakes. Add a dropper to make the dessert look like a real love potion! I also added Jolly Rancher™ Valentine Jelly Hearts Fruit Candy to beakers, they had a very positive lab result!
Drinks were so much fun to serve up for this party. I love using unique glassware and these Super Science Test Tubes with Trays were perfect. Just add a straw and make a little love potion tag to add to the tube. I made these little tags by gluing grid paper to plain White Index Cards. I cut them to size and wrote Love Potion on each one....wait for the jokes about falling in love with each other!
The Science Party Cups with Straws are also a great option. I served these up on a Cool Craft Tray with top up juice in a larger beaker. Again the tags were made with index cards and grid paper, get the free printable tags here. Tie the tags on with Baker's Twine.
Now for some mad science, Valentines style! I pushed together two tables, so I could set up multiple lab stations for the kids to work their way around.
In the middle of the table I used a large lazy Susan to hold the majority of the supplies they needed to do different experiments. Beakers full of Chenille Stems, Tiny Pom-Poms, baking soda, alka seltzer, yeast, glue, clear balloons, food coloring, candy hearts, shaving cream, craft sticks, glitter, foam slime ballz, heart confetti, sequins and more!
All my color selections matched the Valentine color palette and I added to the Valentines Day feel by scattering Glitter Valentine Foam Hearts across the table.
A craft cart held extra supplies for when we ran low (tip: have plenty of glue and activator on hand!), safety gloves and "adult supervision" items such as borax, hydrogen peroxide and hot water.
I set up 12 Valentines themed experiments for the kids to try out. Get supply lists and step by step instructions for each experiment here.
Each station was set up on a Cool Craft Tray painted to match the color scheme. This gave the kids freedom to move experiments next to each other or bring items to them if they preferred.
At each station I laid out the MUST HAVE items for the experiment. Super Science Test Tubes with Trays were perfect for holding different household liquids for some of the experiments. Simply write or use vinyl to add a label to each tube.
I also added droppers, clear round containers, bowls and beakers for the kids to use.
At some stations I used a Science Academy Kit, these come with everything you need to conduct multiple experiments including an instruction booklet which I put at the station. Get a full list of these experiments here.
For the non-kit experiments I added a fun logo to a White Index Card and used this to write up the experiments for the kids to follow. Get the free printable download here.
The kids had a fantastic time experimenting with magnets and the laws of attraction!
Making baking soda hearts fizz and there was a whole LAVA love for mixing oil, water and alka seltzer.
We also covered S.T.E.M Building, Squishy Balls and more!
To break things up a little I also set up a fun Valentine Bottle Toss Game. A different kind of love potion but with the same positive reaction! The rings for this game are in the shape of little hearts!
When it came time to head home I gave out Valentine's Day Tube Favor Containers filled with White Pineapple Jelly Beans Candy. Could they be any more perfect for a Valentines Science themed party?!
For friends who were unable to join us I created take-home experiment kits. Filling Valentine Heart-Shaped Baskets with everything they needed to take part in several of the experiments.
See the full list of supplies here to include in a take-home kit.
I added tasty treats to the basket, Jolly Rancher™ Valentine Jelly Hearts Fruit Candy inside Mini Heart-Shaped Favor Containers, adding "Eat Me" to these in order to differentiate them from the non-edible science supplies!
It was super fun delivering the packs to our friends and fellow scientists at home, with even more fun had during virtual lab hours! Be sure to check out my DIY Periodic Table Backdrop, DIY Valentine's Day Molecule Centerpiece and Valentine's Day Experiments for Kids.
