3, 2, 1…Blast Off!
If your summer adventures include some space exploration, the ideas below will help get you started. Designed with kids of all ages in mind, the activities and crafts can be modified for even the youngest and oldest of campers. Have a blast!
Space Explorer Ideas
Weigh In
Ever wonder what you weigh on another planet? This activity has children practicing their math skills and working in pairs. To get started, have children pair up or assign partners. You will need one scale per pair. Have students record their starting weight on Earth and complete this worksheet to find their weight on other planets. A group discussion later could address questions related to which planet do you weigh the most on and on which one do you weight the least.
My Weight on Other Planets
Trip to Outer Space!
Kids love to act and role play, so what better way to get them thinking creatively than with a group theater project! Have students work in small groups to create their own script, costumes and backdrop for an outer space theme play. They will be responsible for coming up with a plot and breaking the story into lines of dialogue. This is a great rainy day activity, because the children will be focused on the task at hand. Even if their strengths are not in writing, they can still participate. There are Readers’ Theater books designed with a space theme that are perfect for this activity.
Comet Balls
Find out how to make simple comet balls from ribbon and tinfoil by watching Appleton Library’s YouTube video below. Students can have a contest to see whose comet goes the farthest and graph the results!
NASA
For educators, camp counselors and students interested in all things space related, there is no better site than NASA! The National Aeronautic and Space Association (NASA) has pages designed specifically for educators and students. Watch live video chats with astronauts, play space related games, download lesson plans and see NASA videos and pictures from space. Explore the site with your camp students and watch their interest in space exploration and science grow!
Lori Archer says
Wow! I wish I had seen these ideas sooner becuase Outerspace was the topic I used for science at summer school this year. We also made stars and dated and put them in order by color. Another idea we used in my classroom was to make a class book about space. This book included plantes, stars, constelations, moons, and etc. The kids loved this and it gave me something to interest other studebts next year.