Valentine’s Day STEM Activities: LEGO Heart Challenge

Valentine’s Day is the perfect opportunity to combine creativity and learning with fun STEM activities for kids. One of the most exciting challenges you can try is building a LEGO heart! This engaging activity encourages children to think critically, design creatively, and practice fine motor skills while celebrating the season of love. Plus, we’ve included free worksheets and task cards to help you get started!

Valentine’s Day STEM Activities: LEGO Heart Challenge

The LEGO Heart Challenge is a hands-on STEM activity that brings engineering, math, and creativity to life in a festive way. Kids can use colorful bricks, like a 1x1 LEGO piece, to design unique heart patterns while exploring concepts like balance, symmetry, and stability. With resources available on platforms like LEGO.com and tools like Google Workspace for organizations, this activity is simple to implement.

You can easily access our free STEM challenge worksheets using Google Chrome, or visit Google Chrome download to ensure you’re ready to bring this engaging activity to your classroom. It’s the perfect way to make Valentine’s Day both educational and fun!

Engineering Concepts: Building a sturdy and visually appealing heart structure.

Children can experiment with different building techniques in this activity to ensure their heart design is strong and attractive. This introduces basic engineering principles such as stability, balance, and structure.

Mathematics: Counting blocks, comparing sizes, and exploring symmetry.

As they work, children can count the number of blocks they use, compare sizes, and even analyze how to split the heart into symmetrical halves. This helps develop essential math skills in a fun, hands-on way.

Creativity: Designing unique heart patterns with colorful LEGO bricks.

Beyond the structural elements, kids can express their creativity by choosing colors and patterns for their hearts. This encourages artistic thinking and personal expression.

This activity is suitable for kids of all ages, from preschoolers to elementary school students, making it an excellent addition to your Valentine’s Day celebrations.

Materials Needed

To start this activity, you’ll need:

LEGO bricks in various colors (red, pink, blue, green, yellow, purple, orange, white, black, and gray)
A LEGO baseplate or board (to build on)
Printable worksheets and task cards (available at the bottom of this article)

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Gather Materials

Before starting, ensure you have all the necessary LEGO bricks in various colors. Set up the LEGO baseplate or board on a flat surface where your child can easily build.

2. Explore Heart Designs

Begin by showing your child how to create basic heart shapes with LEGO bricks. You can either follow a template or let your child experiment with different designs. Encourage them to think about symmetry and how the heart should look from all sides.

3. Build the Heart Structure

Now comes the fun part—building! Help your child begin by forming the outline of the heart, and then fill it in with the bricks of their choice. You can also discuss how to make the heart more stable by adding extra layers or using larger blocks for the base.

4. Add Creativity

Once the heart structure is complete, let your child add their own creative touches. They can use different colors or even create patterns with the bricks, such as alternating colors for a striped or polka-dot heart design.

5. Reflect on the Process

As they finish their builds, take a moment to ask your child about their design choices. Why did they pick certain colors? How did they decide on the shape? This encourages critical thinking and verbal communication skills.

Why Choose a LEGO Heart STEM Activity for Kids?

It Encourages Teamwork and Collaboration:

The LEGO Heart Challenge is more than just a building activity—it’s a team-building exercise. By working in groups, children practice communication, problem-solving, and delegation skills as they design and build their unique hearts. Whether they’re choosing the perfect 1x1 LEGO piece or planning their structure, teamwork is key.

It Boosts Creativity and Critical Thinking:

This activity inspires kids to think outside the box. Instead of copying pre-made designs, children are encouraged to imagine their own unique heart structures using colorful bricks. The open-ended nature of this challenge develops creative thinking and gives kids a sense of accomplishment when they bring their vision to life.
It Introduces Math and Engineering Concepts:

Building hearts with LEGO pieces is a hands-on way to explore symmetry, balance, and stability. Kids count the number of bricks used, identify patterns, and experiment with structural designs. These skills are foundational in engineering and mathematics, making this activity as educational as it is fun.

It’s Easy to Set Up and Use Anywhere:

This no-prep activity can be seamlessly integrated into your lesson plans or used as a quick sub plan. All you need are LEGO bricks, and with tools like Google Workspace, you can organize instructions and share resources easily. For additional inspiration or heart-building guides, visit LEGO.com.

It Teaches Patience and Resilience:

Kids may not always succeed on their first try, but that’s the beauty of the Engineering Design Process (EDP). When a design isn’t sturdy or symmetrical, they can identify the issue, improve their plan, and try again. This teaches perseverance and problem-solving in a fun and constructive way.

Download Free Worksheets and Task Cards

We’ve created free worksheets and task cards that complement the LEGO Heart Challenge to make this activity even more educational. These materials will guide children through the process with step-by-step prompts, questions to spark creativity, and challenges to deepen their understanding of STEM concepts.