Welcome to another Wacky Workshops project – space-themed crafts.

Have you ever seen a UFO – Unidentified Flying Object?

If you have you are not alone. There have been more than 12,000 reported sightings – at least six per cent of these have remained unresolved. Meaning nobody knows what the objects actually were.

Sightings have been reported for hundreds of years and there is even a World UFO Day – July 2. This date was chosen in honour of an alleged UFO crash in Roswell, New Mexico, on July 2, 1947.

What a wonderful time to celebrate with some space-themed crafts.

SPACED OUT FACTS

• According to a 1991 poll by Roper, almost four million people believe they have been abducted by aliens and then returned to Earth.
• Most UFO sightings turn out to be balloons, meteors, clouds and hoaxes. However, between five and 20 per cent are still unexplained.
• UFOs are often reported to be in the shape of a saucer, Hence the term, ‘flying saucer’.

• Space is completely silent. Could be that is every mother’s dream. As space has no atmosphere, sound has no way to travel and be heard.
• There is no way to determine how many stars there are. It is estimated there are between 200 and 400 billion stars in our galaxy alone. But it is estimated there are also billions of galaxies.
• Some stars that we see have disappeared hundreds of years ago. Light travels really fast, but stars are so far away that even light from the closest stars takes years to get to us.

• There could be a planet made up of diamonds. Research by Yale University scientists suggests that a planet known as 55 Cancri e, may have a surface made up of graphite and diamond.
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SPACE THEMED CRAFTS – MAGNETIC ROCKET PICTURE

This one is super easy and loads of fun. If you make two rockets you can race them through space using the magnetic sticks.

MATERIALS

• Cardboard – cut from a box works fine
• Black paint
• Glitter
• Star stickers
• Paper
• Scissors
• Markers
• Magnets – flat – like the promotional magnets you get in the mail and round ones.
• Glue
• Wooden rods or chopsticks
• 4 x bottle caps

METHOD

• Glue the bottle caps to each corner of the back of your cardboard.
• Flip it over and paint the cardboard black.
• When it is dry use the glue, glitter and star stickers to create a space scene.
• Cut out simple rocket shapes from the paper and decorate them.
• Cut to size and glue a flat magnet to the back of the rockets.

• Glue another magnet to the wooden rod.
• Place the wooden rod under (or behind if you stick your space picture to a wall) the cardboard to make the rockets ‘fly’ through space.

Check out my post, How to Make a Moving Picture, for more fun with magnets.

SPACE THEMED CRAFTS – MOON MAN

Did you know it is believed that the moon was once a piece of Earth? Some believe that Earth was hit by a giant object and part of it broke away to create the moon.

With no atmosphere, the moon has no wind which means there is nothing to blow away or water to wash away, the footprints of the first people to walk on it. These will remain visible for millions of years.

A full NASA space suit costs more than $12,000,000. Luckily, the little suit our moon man wears is much cheaper.

MATERIALS

• Cardboard (like from the side of a box)
• A cardboard circle
• Black paint
• Paintbrush
• Foil
• Coins and buttons
• Paper
• Glue
• Scissors
• Large craft stick
• Box cutters
• Pencil and markers
• Glitter (optional)

METHOD

• Paint the cardboard sheet black.
• Place the coins and buttons on the cardboard circle.
• Tear off enough foil to cover the circle completely.
• Place the foil on top of the coins and bottoms.
• Gently press on the foil to leave the impression of the coins and buttons to represent moon craters. This is a great exercise for discovering the magic of texture.

• Remove the coins and buttons, being careful not to smooth out the impressions.
• Glue the foil in place at the back of the cardboard circle.
• Glue the circle onto the cardboard sheet.
• Add glitter to decorate the cardboard if desired
• Cut a small and simple spaceman shape from the paper and decorate with markers.
• Use the box cutter to make a slit (big enough for the craft stick to fit) in the cardboard where you want the moon man to go.
• Glue the paper spaceman onto the craft stick and slide the stick into the slit you created.
• You can make the moon man move by pushing the craft stick up and down.

Check out my fun moon mobile project.

SPACE THEMED CRAFTS – EASY ALIENS

These little guys are ridiculously easy to make but so much fun to play with

MATERIALS

• Cardboard rolls
• Coloured paper
• Glue
• Pipe cleaners
• Small foam balls
• Large needle or nail

METHOD

• Cover the rolls with the coloured paper and glue to secure.
• Use the needle or nail to punch a small hole on either side of the rolls and fit the pipe cleaners to form arms.
• Use another pipe cleaner (you can cut this one if it’s too long) to create the eye/eyes by poking it into the foam balls and then securing to the inside of the cardboard roll with glue.

This is a great opportunity to really promote creative thinking and have the kids come up with their own designs using other materials such as wool and even bolts and washers.

SPACE THEMED CRAFTS – ROCKET

MATERIALS

• Plastic bottle
• Cardboard
• Scissors/box cutters
• Paint
• Paintbrush
• Glue
• Coloured paper

METHOD

• Place the bottle lying flat on the cardboard and trace around it, taking the lines about 5 – 8 cm beyond the bottom of the bottle.
• Make an identical outline about 3 cm outside of the shape you created.
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• Trace around the bottom of the bottle to create a circle.
• Use the tracing lines as a guide to cut the cardboard with box cutters or scissors.
• Mark your rocket shapes A and B.
• Make a slit from the outer top point of rocket shape ‘A’ halfway down towards the inner point.
• Make another slit from the inner edge of the bottom of rocket shape ‘A’ towards the outer edge
• Next, make a slit from the inner point of the rocket shape ‘B’ up towards the outer point.
• Make another slit from the outer edge of the bottom of rocket shape ‘B’ towards the inner edge.

• Carefully connect the two pieces perpendicularly by pushing them together at the slits you created.
• Push the cardboard circle in between them – this provides stability to the structure.
• Paint the rocket shape as desired.
• Insert the bottle into the rocket shape and decorate with features such as windows and doors by glueing coloured paper shapes on.

SPACE THEMED CRAFTS – HOVERCRAFT

This has long been a favourite with the Wacky Workshops students because it is lots of fun to play with.

Its shape suggests a flying saucer or maybe a fun moon mobile.

MATERIALS

• Old CD
• Drink bottle top – the kind that lifts open like those from pop tops
• Balloon
• Strong craft glue
• Markers/paints

METHOD

• Decorate the CD with markers or paints.
• Glue the bottle lid to the top of the CD, where the hole is.
• When it’s completely dry, stretch the balloon over the bottle top, covering it completely.
• Lift the bottle lid up then flip over the CD and blow through the hole to inflate the balloon.
• Squeeze the balloon tight where it meets the bottle lid, so it doesn’t deflate.
• Place the hovercraft on a table or the floor and release it.
• The hovercraft will ‘hover’ as the air leaves the balloon and it deflates.

Happy crafting and have a gleeful week, Tamuria.