Valentine’s Day is the perfect time to do kitchen science with kids. Whip up some Valentine candy recipes like these fun jolly rancher lollipops and get ready to add a cool science twist! In the kitchen, kids can learn a lot about science and math. Cooking is one of the ultimate Valentines STEM activities!
My kids love cooking in the kitchen. One of my favorite things about cooking with kids is not only that they learn to cook (so important! ), but also that it is the perfect place to solidify math skills!
Bring some STEAM into your kitchen this Valentine’s Day when you make these candy heart lollipops!
How to Make Candy Lollipops for Valentine’s Day
This simple Valentine’s Day heart lollipop recipe is fun, colorful, and easy! Keep reading to find a STEM lesson plan to go along with your Valentine candy recipes.
The Science Behind Candy Heart Lollipops
Children must measure, follow a recipe, use kitchen tools, set up the molds, and a lot of other STEAM elements to get their candy lollipops to turn out right.
Follow along with these directions on how to make jolly rancher lollipops in molds to turn the Valentine heart lollipops into a STEAM activity at home or in the classroom.
Valentine Candy Making STEM Integration
Cooking, and particularly cooking candy, takes elements of science, technology, engineering, art, and math.
Science: Measuring, following directions.
Technology: Working with a microwave and kitchen tools.
Engineering: Designing the look of the lollipops, making sure things stay neat and orderly.
Math: Measuring, calculating cook times.
More Valentine Activities for Kids
Valentine’s Hearts Fizzing Chemical Reactions
Valentine Heart Chromatography Experiment with Markers!
What you’ll need for the Valentine candy heart lollipops:
How to Make Jolly Rancher Lollipops in Heart Molds
This Valentine lollipop recipe is so easy, and it tastes, great, too!
Kick it up a notch by melting sugar to make your own candy and flavor it with your favorite candy flavors!
1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
2. Unwrap Jolly Ranchers and place 2 different colored jolly ranchers in each mold.
3. Place mold on a baking sheet. Stick in oven for about 7-8 minutes. Keep a close eye on them and take them out when melted.
4. Immediately place a stick in the lollipop.
5. Let them set at room temperature for about 10 minutes or until harden. Pop out of mold.
6. Now they are ready to eat!!
If you want to make these as gifts, wrap them in candy bags and tie with a pretty bow. If you have other molds, try making other fun candy shapes! Homemade candy is a lot more fun than store-bought!