National Space Day
Friday 1st May is National Space Day. Each year on the first Friday of May, scientists and space enthusiasts gather together to celebrate Space Day.
The day was created to observe the many wonders of the unknown space that our planet, and plenty of others, floats in. It encourages children to take an interest in the scientific field of space travel.
Why not have a look at some of these fabulous activities to get you excited about the solar system, space travel and what it is like to be an astronaut. Remember to ask your parents to tweet your pictures to @stannespri so we can see your fantastic work.
Outer Space - A Beautiful World
Activities
Space stories
Read space stories together or use non-fiction texts to find out about space. Some stories include: “Whatever Next” by Jill Murphy, “Man on the Moon (A day in the life of Bob)” by Simon Bartram and this interactive story from Twinkl called “The Girl Who went to Space”: https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/t2-s-1183-the-girl-who-went-to-space-animation
Activities
- Design your own Planet- Design your own planet. Think about what you would need for the planet to survive. (pdf)
- Diary entry from space- Imagine you are an astronaut and you are writing a diary entry from space. Think about the different jobs you have to complete during your day. (pdf)
- Earth and Space acrostic poems- Write acrostic poems using each letter of Earth or Space.
Earth (pdf)
Space (pdf)
- Create a fact file about Helen Sharman- Children in Key Stage One can use the information sheets to create a fact file or a poster about Helen Sharman. (pdf)
- Label the solar system- Find out about the positions of the planets in the solar system from this website: https://www.planetsforkids.org/, then label the correct planets. (pdf)
- Moon landing 1969- Find out what happened when man first landed on the moon in this comprehension activity. (pdf)
- Satellites and Meteor showers: Read this comprehension activity to find out about the recent sightings of satellites and meteor showers at night. Will you be able to see any? (pdf)
- Solar system code breaker: Break to code to find the missing mysterious words. (pdf)
- Space Crossword: Use the clues to find the missing words in the crossword. (pdf)
- Tim Peake: Find out about British astronaut Time Peake and his mission on the International Space Station (pdf)
- What would I take to space?: If you could travel to space what 10 items would you take with you? (pdf)
Creativity
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Balloon Rocket (Taken from the book “This is Rocket Science” by Emma Vanstone) You will need:
1. Blow up the balloon a little and let the air out. This allows the balloon to expand more easily when the gas from the chemical reaction enters it. 2. Draw a rocket on the balloon using a felt tip pen. This is easiest to do when the balloon is blown up but don’t tie the end of the balloon. 3. Place the baking soda in the bottle followed by the vinegar, and then quickly place the balloon over the opening. You should be able to see baking soda and vinegar react as lots of bubbles appear. The bubbles are carbon dioxide, which is released in the neutralisation reaction between the baking soda and vinegar. The carbon dioxide produced will first fill the bottle and then the balloon making the size increase. |
Balloon- Powered Moon Buggy (Taken from the book, “This is Rocket Science” by Emma Vanstone) You will need:
1. Cut two straws so they are about 15mm shorter than the axles and push the axles inside the straws. 2. Cut a piece of card so it is narrower than the axles and attached them together by taping over the straws. 3. Once you’ve built the frame, use a small rubber band to attach the balloon to the end of a straw. You then need to tape the straw to the top of the buggy. 4. Blow the balloon up by blowing into the straw, place the buggy on the floor, let go and watch it move. If it doesn’t work, it might be too heavy, so try to make it lighter. |
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