Use this make your own constellation activity as a fun way to get the kids interested in the night sky!
Do you have a space lover in your home? I’m sure they are interested in the night sky and the stars that fill them. The boys in my home love learning about space and can spend hours watching documentaries. We often get questions about how fast objects travel like the speed of light or how big a planet or galaxy is.
We could spend hours under the stars while we’re camping and it’s the best time to spot if any constellations. To the normal person, ie me, I can’t differentiate them. But the boys and their dad are pretty good at find them.
>> See more space activities for kids
Make your Own Constellation
In the 4th Tinker Crate subscription box, we received this one to build your own constellation. I’ve been impressed with our subscription and the quality of the projects.
Everything comes in the kit that you’ll need for the projects so no more excuses, you can do science right away when you get this.
I love being able to have creative boxes like this that give us everything that we need. it just makes the entire process super simple and it also means that we can get started on it right away. The kids love that with just a few simple set up steps, they can start creating, too.
The Tinker Crate Constellations Supplies
This is everything that comes in the box. They really do a great job of having it all together for you with easy to follow steps and instructions.
- Glue
- White crayon
- Booklet
- Instructions
- Battery holder with cables
- Two AA betteries
- Fiber Optic bands
- Carboard box
- Black foam boards
- Push pin (careful – it’s sharp)
You get materials for one large project with an easy to understand set of instructions so my son is able to do it on his own and he’s 9 years old.
I loved watching him put this together and take the time to read through the steps. I honestly didn’t know how it was going to go with it being a bigger process than what we normally do but he was awesome with it every step of the way.
I was nervous about my son using the push pin to mark out the constellation but he did fine with it. I just had to remind him to put it away. I didn’t want his sister to get into his stuff and she sure wanted to.
It’s so cool when you see it lit, he made the Big Dipper and then saw that he had a lot of room so he added in Scorpius. It’s now a night light in his room. He got another black foam board so he can create another one if he wanted.
Use the code SHARE30 to save 30% off of your first month.
Read this post about the first Tinker Crate we received.
The Importance of Creative Play
I love being able to watch our kids use these type of activities for creative play. Not only are they learning about the sky and solar system but they’re also learning about the starts, too.
These type of activities help them learn how to use their imagination and also their critical thinking skills at the same time. It’s the best of both worlds when it comes to seeing what they can create and how easily they make it seem.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve encouraged the kids to use their hands and their minds to learn. And this is one activity that does both. There are so many ways that I was impressed with the format and the flow of this box and it’s safe to say that the kids agreed as well.
Putting Learning Activities Into Action
The other really cool part of this fun constellation activity is that it showed the kids that what they learn is really applicable to the real world, too. Once the constellations were read about and created, we then couldn’t wait to go outside and see which ones we could actually see.
The kids loved being able to look up into the sky and actually identify some of the constellations that they’d just created! It was pretty amazing to see them put that to use so quickly as well.
We were able to find a way to connect over creativity and learning in a fun and new way. This also led us to going outside on more occasions to see if there were other constellations that we could see too. The kids loved pointing out what they knew and when we saw ones we didn’t know, we were excited to dig in and do the research to find out all about them.
If you’re ready to take your science learning to a new and fun place with the kids, this is a great way to do so. They’ll love using their hands to create and their minds to explore and learn more.
More Science Ideas
If you liked this fun constellation activity, be certain to check out some other favorites ideas and activities as well. You can really have fun with all the learning that you can easily do at home.
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