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OUTER SPACE THEME

CRAFTS:

E.T. Pin
Give each child a large bread pretzel. Using a pattern, cut out a piece of construction paper sized and shaped to the pretzel. Glue the pretzel to the paper; glue “googly eyes” or construction paper eyes into the spaces framed by the big pretzel loops. To finish, glue a pin to the back of the construction paper.

Moon Craters
Use the bubble wrap that comes in packages and covered it with plaster of paris. Let dry and peel off. Then paint.

Moon Book
Help the children write a story about the moon that goes with a picture of the moon that they painted.

Moon Rocks
Go on a ( pretend) space shuttle to the moon to collect moon rocks(you hide). The kids can then paint them.

Robots
Build Robots from various boxes and tubes. After they are dry, paint them with gold paint(or silver). You could do this as a group or individual project.

Outer-Space Eggs 
Have an adult help with cracking an egg in two, and use the larger part of the shell. Trim off the excess broken edge of the shell with nail scissors. Have the child put a little white glue on this cut edge to make it stronger. Cut a heavy paper or cardboard base in the shape of large feet. Glue the open end of the eggshell to the feet and let it dry. Attach paper or sticks with glue to form arms and antennae. Paint the little egg man any color that you like best. Add features with paint or felt-tipped marker.

Parachute 
Each child requires a 30cm square of orange plastic (cut from garbage bags), four self sticking reinforcement rings, four lengths of thin wire (telephone wire), and a plastic clothespin. The kids punch a hole in each corner of the plastic and attach the reinforcement rings around the holes. Thread the wires through the holes and tie a knot at the end. Take all four wires and tie a knot to hold them together. Clip the clothespin onto the knot. Throw the parachute into the air and watch the parachute descend.

Rockets
Make a cone shape from construction paper and tape to make a rocket ship. Paint it silver, add glue and glitter stuff with colorful shredded paper with some strips dangling out the bottom. Run your rocket ship with you through the sprinkler and imagine you're traveling through an ice crystal shower on the moons of Jupiter, cool spots of the universe!

Rocketships
Materials: Toilet tissue tubes, Aluminum foil, 1/2 circle taped or stapled into cone shape, Glue, Brushes, Crepe paper strips (red), Tape. Keep circle halves cut and ready to use. (A coffee can lid makes the perfect size nozzle if cut in half.) Give each child a toilet tissue roll and a sheet of aluminum foil to wrap around the roll. Staple together the half circle to make a cone shape. Child should glue the cone onto the roll. Now tape on crepe paper 'flames' from the bottom of the roll.

Space Station
Bring in a variety of recyclable household items and allow the kids to construct a space station. This could be done in groups. Some essentials to consider  would be food, water, air, clothing, communications, energy sources, and navigation.

Space Helmet
You will need: a bag, straws, crayons or markers, long underwear, cereal or oatmeal box, yarn, paper towel tubes, cutting implements (for adult use only) and tape. First, make a paper bag space helmet. Glue or tape on straws to simulate wires, tubes, and other important gizmos one would expect to find on a space suit. (You can also draw them with crayons or markers.) The suit can consist of long underwear or pj's. Before your child blasts off, make an air tank out of an oatmeal or cereal box. Make shoulder straps out of yarn or string (watch young children). To make an air hose, tape several paper towel tubes together (slit the ends to make it easier to combine them), then make cuts every inch or two that almost pass through the tube as if slicing a loaf of French bread. Tape one end to the air tank and the other to the helmet.

Splatter Space
Have the children splatter paint a picture. Then tell the students to spread out the star pictures all over their sheet of black construction paper. When they are done give them a piece of white chalk and tell them to connect the stars to form constellation pictures. Then have the children name their constellations. Hang up their constellations on a bulletin board, and title it "In the Night's Sky I See..."

Starlight Mobile
Use cookie cutter shapes for moon crescents & stars (or draw your own) to trace a moon crescent & three stars. Trace around each shape twice onto aluminum foil and cut out the traced figures. Glue the foil crescents to each side of the cardboard moon. Glue tinsel to each of the cardboard stars. Glue the foil stars to each side of the cardboard stars. Tape a dark-colored thread from each star to the moon. Glue a long piece of thread along the inside curve of the moon. When the glue dries, hang the mobile in your window. 

Star Viewer
Here's a miniature planetarium. 
Directions: Secure a circle of black construction paper to one end of a cardboard tube. Use a needle to punch a constellation pattern in the construction paper. To use the viewer, have your child hold the view up to the light and look through the open end.

Space Spider 
This craft requires cardboard egg cartons, glue, pipe cleaners and scissors. Cut out two egg cartons and glue them together to form the body. Bend the pipe cleaners into legs, and glue them on. Add eyes and fangs.

GAMES & ACTIVITIES:

Astronaut Training 
Explain to the kids that astronauts must be physically fit and have certain training. Lead the kids in callisthenics. Then do a variety of challenges in round-robin style, such as the following: 
Balance: Get the kids to walk along a narrow plank on the ground, placing each foot directly in front of the other. The planks can get progressively smaller, until the kids are walking on a very narrow board.
Space walk: Bring a small trampoline to the meeting. Ask the kids to jump on it as hard as they can, trying to move their legs, or pinwheeling their arms while in the air.
Sight deprivation: Blindfold the kids and form them into a single line. Each holds onto the shoulder of the person in front of them. Lead them on an obstacle course, around, under and over a variety of obstacles.
Manual dexterity: Provide each child with a pile of beans or marbles, and a can. Ask them to pick up the marbles as fast as possible (one at a time), putting them into the can. Let the kids try it a second time, only now while wearing gloves. How much more difficult is it?
Speed: Measure off a distance and challenge the kids to run as fast as they can, back and forth, in a set time period. Make a “group speed record” by adding up all the times taken to complete the runs.

Box Rocket Trip
We created a rocket out of washing machine boxes and used ice cream containers from a local ice cream shop for our helmets. We also created space suits out of white garbage bags using permanent markers. We attempted to eat pudding from ziplock baggies through straws to understand how difficult it is to eat in space.

Balloon Rockets
This game uses balloons, straws, and string. Thread a straw onto a long length of string and tie the string tightly between two convenient points, e.g. tables. Move the straw to one end of the string, blow up a balloon and attach it to the straw. Give each child a straw and let each take turns blowing through the straw (rocket boosters) at the balloon (spaceship) to make it move up the string.

Code Breaking
Think up a number of symbols (e.g. #, $, %) and tell the kids what alphabet letter each symbol represents. Then give a coded message using the symbol. Let the kids match the letters to create words. Keep the message simple since the kids are just learning to read..

Explore the Planets 
Set up an obstacle course for the kids to hop or crawl over, under and through to get into the “space station” meeting hall.

Message Relay 
Let the kids use their imaginations to devise ways to get a message across the meeting hall. Gather paper, string, tape, balls, etc., for their use. Their communications solution might be something as simple as tying a message onto a ball and rolling it, or it could involve stretching a string across the room and pulling the ball across. The children might be interested to experiment with semaphore cards.

Moon Walking
Place pillows all over the floor. Then cover the pillows and floor with a sheet. Attach x-large sized thick sponges to the children's feet with rubber bands for space shoes. Let the children walk over the area. Play space walk music for a real dramatic effect.

Ring a Rocket
(Pre-assemble equipment before the game.) 
Paint a plywood base, and a rocket made from cardboard tubing and a cone-shaped, paper drinking cup. Trim the end of the rocket and glue it to the base. Allow three tosses per turn; a ringer wins.

Rocket
We created a rocket out of washing machine boxes and used ice cream containers from a local ice cream shop for our helmets. We also created space suits out of white garbage bags using permanent markers. We attempted to eat pudding from ziplock baggies through straws to understand how difficult it is to eat in space.

Star Gazers
Give each child an empty toilet paper tube. Cover the end of the tube with a piece of black paper. Let the children gently push a toothpick through the black paper to create tiny holes. Give the children markers to decorate their scopes. To use them, have the children hold their scopes up to the light and look through the uncovered end. This will look like a mini-planetarium.

Space Craft Simulator
Every successful mission must be simulated first. Have the children sit very close to each other inside a rope circle. Lead them through a take off, a bumpy ride and a landing. You will have to be animated to pull this off.

Space Flight
Divide the kids into groups and assign each group a space name: satellite, meteorite, space shuttle, two-stage rocket, etc.. The groups should form small circles where each practises the appropriate sounds and movements for its name. (For example, satellites can run around the circle yelling, “Beep, Beep, Beep.”) Meteorites might race around yelling, “Swoosh, Swoosh” and end with a high jump. Two-stage rockets can hop around on two feet, while one-stagers hop around on one foot. When all the kids know their movements, form the colony into a big circle. As you call out each name, the kids “fly” around the circle imitating the rocket they represent. At the call, “Space Train”, the kids turn left, grab the waist of the child in front, and race around the circle together. Finally, call “Touchdown!”, and let everyone collapse.

Star Wars
Ask two or three adults (or older section youth) to come to the meeting dressed as Darth Vader. Divide the room with two parallel lines. Gather enough soft sponge balls for each Darth Vader. The Vaders stand in the middle, while the kids (Luke Skywalkers) divide up behind the lines. When a leader calls “Star Wars!”, the “Lukes” try to run to the opposite side of the room, while the “Vaders” try tagging them with the balls. If a “Luke” is tagged, the player must sit down and try to tag the other “Lukes” without moving from that spot. Any “Luke” tagged by a sitting “Luke” sits next to the tagger.

Space Stations
Organize a variety of activities for the kids to do in round-robin style. At a craft table let them build alien creatures and E.T. pins. Let them try zero gravity eating in another area. Without using their hands, the kids must eat various types of food hanging from strings. Hang star chart posters on the walls. Let the kids create their own galaxies using glue and sparkles on black construction paper.

Tin Can Phones
Use two metal cans and about 3 metres of string to make tin can phones.
 

SONGS:

Climb Aboard The Spaceship (sung to Itsy Bitsy Spider)
Climb aboard the spaceship, We're going to the moon.
Hurry and get ready, We're going to blast off soon.
Put on your helmets And buckle up real tight.
Here comes the countdown, Let's count with all our might.
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1---BLAST OFF!!

Space Action Song (sung to London Bridge)
The planets spin around the sun,
Around the sun, around the sun.
The planets spin around the sun,
We live on earth!

The sun is found in the middle,
In the middle, in the middle.
The sun is found in the middle,
It keeps us warm!

The stars are twinkling far away,
Far away, far away.
The stars are twinkling far away,
Now make a wish.

Spaceman #1
Tune: I’m a Little Teapot
I’m a spaceman, I can ZOOM!
Off to Mars, off to the moon.
See the Star Trek spaceship,
Star Wars too,
Just count down, blast-off
ZOOM, ZOOM, ZOOM!

Spaceman #2
Tune: Junior Birdsmen
Chant:
Oh my goodness, where have you been?
Here comes the spacemen !
Sing:
Up in the air, spacemen (Make thumb and forefinger
goggles over eyes)
Up in the air, upside down (Bend head low)
Up in the air, spacemen (Goggles)
With your noses to the ground. (Bend over and then stand up)
Repeat chant.
When you hear the grand announcement (Cup hands to ears)
That your wings are made of tin (Flap arms like wings)
Then you’ll know you’re a Spacemen (Goggles)
So send your meteors in. (Pretend to throw meteors)
You need five meteors, (Five fingers up)
Four asteroids, (Four fingers)
Three stars, (Three fingers)
Two martians, (Two fingers)
One rocket ship. (One finger)
(Shout loudly) ZOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!! (Fly away around the room)
 

STORIES:

Have any good stories? Let us know!
 

FOOD SUGGESTIONS:

Martian Mix Juice
Ahead of time, mix all these ingredients together except the club soda.
• large can of unsweetened pineapple juice
• 2 tbsp. lemon juice
• small can of frozen orange juice concentrate
• bottle club soda.
Add the club soda just before serving. Quenches the thirst of 10 - 12 astronauts.
 

TIPS/NOTES: