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My children loved making these glow-in-the-dark paintings for their rooms, but loved turning out the lights and watching them glow even more!

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We found this great black canvas that made the perfect sky for our painting. (If you don't have a black canvas, you can just paint a white one black.) We used masking tape to make the outline of the moon. Next, a Q-tip made the perfect craters with our glow-in-the-dark paint. 

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We continued using the Q-tip to create a sky of stars! It looked great once we removed our tape and even better in the dark. This has become almost like a night light for my children.

canvas

glow-in-the-dark paint

masking tape

q-tip

Glow in the Dark Moon and Stars Painting

science project

nature science

solar system

Learn about why the moon appears to change shape as it rotates around the Earth.


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Attach your ball to a stick using a string. The ball will represent the moon; the person holding the ball will be the Earth. It will be from the Earth's perspective that you will see the phases of the moon change.


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Shine a light on the moon (the ball). This light represents the sun. You can use a strong flashlight or a lamp (just take the lampshade off to make it brighter).

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Turn off the lights, and - keeping the light shining on your moon - have the person holding the ball slowly start to rotate. You will see the ball begin to light up more.


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As you continue to rotate, you'll see the moon get larger and larger (this is called "waxing"), increasing to a Quarter Moon and then a Full Moon.


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Then the moon will shrink as you rotate back around to the light (sun), until you are facing directly into the sun and the moon is completely dark. This is called a New Moon.


flashlight or lamp

a ball

stick (optional - like a spatula or chopstick to suspend the ball from)

string (to hang the ball with)

Phases of the Moon

art-science projects

craft

space

In this simple experiment, use flour and cocoa to show how moon craters are made! Watch our video to see how it works, then try it yourself.

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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN98T8gePz4">Watch our video to see how it works</a>, then try it yourself!
Make your moon surface by filling a pan with flour about 1 - 2 inches (2.5&nbsp;-&nbsp;5.1&nbsp;cm)&nbsp;deep.

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Sprinkle cocoa on top to create contrast


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Bombs away! Hold each "meteor" at eye level and drop them onto your flour pan. Your meteors can be rocks, marbles or in our case we used hardened clay.


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white flour

cocoa

rocks, stones, or small balls

DIY Moon Craters

With this simple device, you can measure the motion of the stars!

Glue the quadrant template to a piece of cardboard, then cut it out.

Tape a straw to the top edge of the quadrant, over the darker stripe on the template. Make sure it's straight!

Use a pencil to poke a hole through the circle in the corner of the quadrant.

Poke one end of the string through the hole and tape it down on the back side.

Tie or tape the weight to the other end of the string.

Here's how to use your quadrant to find the latitude of your house. You'll need a clear night and a place you can see the stars. 1. Start by finding the Big Dipper. Draw an imaginary line between the two outer stars of the bowl part of the dipper. Follow that line to find the North Star. 2. Close one eye and look through your straw up at the North Star. When you have it in sight, have a friend write down the number the string is hanging over. 3. Take the reading two more times. Then add the three numbers together, and divide by three. This number is your latitude!

You can check your results by using a latitude and longitude finder. Just enter your address and discover your coordinates. Check out <a href="http://tinkercrate.com/planetarium">tinkercrate.com/planetarium</a> for a link!

You can also use your quadrant to measure the motion of the stars over the course of a night, or throughout the year.

Quadrant Troubleshooting: Make sure that the string can swing freely before taking a reading. If you are taking a reading by yourself, pinch the string to hold it in place once you've got the star in your sight. Then you can lower the quadrant and read the number. To practice taking a measurement during the daytime, try sighting the top of a tree or a house.

quadrant template - download from tinkercrate.com/planetarium

cardboard (at least 6 inches square)

straw

weight (like a bead, washer, or coin)

string

Tape

Glue Stick

pencil

Scissors

Make Your Own Quadrant

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at-home learning

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When you look up at the moon at night, it often looks like there are some grey areas and some white areas on the surface. The grey areas are called craters. Have you ever wondered how the moon's craters are formed? If the answer is yes, then this experiment is just right for you. Make your own moon surface with flour and oil and then drop meteorites (small rocks and pebbles) from varying heights to create your own craters!

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First, add 4 cups of flour to your round cake pan.

Adding the dry ingredients first and then the wet ones minimizes the mess!

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Mix the ingredients. You can mix it with a spoon or a spatula but mixing with your hands works just as well. Pat the mixture down flat with your hands. Try to make it as smooth as possible. Now you have your moon surface!

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You might want to lay a few paper towels down; this step might get a little messy. Put your pan down on a flat surface like a table or the floor and drop your small rocks or pebbles onto the surface. Take a closer look - what kind of craters are created?

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Try changing up the height of the drop. How do the craters change? Look up a picture of the moon. Does your home-made moon surface look similar?

5 at-home moon projects for kids

Screen-free fun!