Hey!
Do your kids love studying all about Space and the planet we live on? I know mine sure do! Astronomy is one of my favorite Science studies. Learning about Earth and Space is always fun but why not kick it up a notch with these Four Invitations to Create, which will not only spark creativity but are also completely hands on and of course, educational!
Sunshine Shadows Provocation: Such an easy and fun activity with kids of all ages. It helps children recognize and understand the physics behind shadows and the suns rays.
Materials needed:
• Large sheet of paper
• Random items or toys in different shapes and sizes (dinosaurs are always a favorite to try)
• Pencil
Instructions:
• Choose a time of day to do this activity
• Early morning and later afternoon work best
• Place items on the sheet of paper
• Use pencil to trace shadow outline the items are casting
Make sure to take note of how the shadows change as the time changes. Are the shadows smaller or larger than the items used? See what happens when the items are rotated.
Oreo Moon Phases: Yum! Have you ever noticed how the moon changes from day to day? Let us recreate the different Moon phases with my favorite, Oreos! This activity lets children combine a fun snack with astronomy. To begin, the way the moon looks through the month changes, the lit-up portion that we see on Earth are called phases. There are 8 phases that repeat monthly.
Materials needed:
• 8 Oreos
• Markers
• Paper plate
• Plastic knife or spoon
• Glass of milk (for dunking after)
Instructions:
• Carefully twist the cookies and pull apart
• Each cookie will need icing scraped off to look like the moon phase and then placed on plate in a circle
• 1st Quarter: ½ Oreo, ½ icing
• Waxing moon: ¾ Oreo, ¼ icing
• New Moon: full Oreo Cookie, no icing showing
• Last Quarter: ½ icing ½ cookie
• Waning Gibbous: ¾ icing ¼ cookie
• Full Moon: No top cookie, full icing
• Waxing Gibbous:1/4 cookie, ¾ icing
• Label the moon phase the cookie represents
• Lastly Eat the Oreos!
Playdough Layers of the Earth: Hold the earth in your hands while learning about the layers of the Earth. What better way to learn about the layers of our planet than by making a play dough planet! Children will see how the Core, Mantle & Crust shape our planet. After creating the model watch faces light up when they cut it in half to reveal the layers inside.
Materials needed:
• 2 cups flour
• 1 Cup coarse sea salt
• 4 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 cups water
• wooden spoon
• cooking pot
• red orange yellow Brown blue and green food coloring
• thin string or floss
Instructions:
• Mix all ingredients except the food coloring together until all clumps are gone put it on the stove on low and stir constantly when the mixture doesn’t stick, it’s Done!
• Cool to room temperature separate the dough into 7 balls and add different food coloring to each ball
• Remember to use the warmer colors for the inner layers and the green and blue for the outside of the earth to represent water and land
• Leave the “core” in a ball shape but flatten out the rest of the balls, wrap each color over the next until you complete the entire earth use the green with the blue for the outer layer an create “land” shapes to mix with “water”
• Lastly use your string or floss to cut the earth in half and reveal the layers of the earth
Paper Mache Volcano: An oldie but oh so fun! Anytime children can make a chemical reaction it’s not only fun but a Real Memory maker!
Materials needed:
• One empty water bottle
• Cardboard
• newspapers cut into strips
• masking tape
• ¼ cup glue
• 1 cup flour
• 1 ½ cup water
• 4 tablespoons of baking powder
• 1 cup of vinegar
• Red food coloring
Instructions:
• Your child will tape the open bottle to the Cardboard then take one piece of Cardboard and tape it from the top of the bottle to the bottom of the volcano to create a four-sided pyramid
• Mix glue flour and water in a bowl to create a paper Mache paste
• dip the newspaper strips into the paste
• Place the strips one-at-a-time all-around of the base of the volcano dry overnight
• Time to Paint!
• When you are ready for an eruption pour baking soda into the opening of the bottle
• Mix vinegar and food coloring in a jar then pour into the bottle and BOOM!
