British Science Week has arrived! To help you celebrate, we’ve put together a list of our favourite space-related experiments for your Space Apprentices. We can’t wait to see how you celebrate Science Week. Don’t forget to use #spacediary on Facebook and Twitter, so your photos appear on our Mission Feed.
Astronomy
This activity will need some adult supervision to assist with cutting and construction.
Chapter 3 of the Space Diary explores things Tim Peake might see from the ISS. He has a very special view of space! From Earth, we can’t see the things in our solar system quite as well, especially if we live in the city. Depending on where you live, you might be able to see the constellation called Ursa Major, also known as the ‘Big Dipper’, if the sky is very dark. This is where a galaxy called the Pinwheel Galaxy is.
But you can build your own Pinwheel Galaxy pinwheel, with the help of NASA. You’ll need a colour copy of the Pinwheel Galaxy printout (available here), a pipe cleaner, some wooden chopsticks or a popsicle stick, some scissors and a hole punch. For detailed instructions on how to make your Pinwheel Galaxy pinwheel, head here.
Engineering for space
This activity is more suitable for older children. It will need adult assistance and supervision, and requires some items which you may not have at home or school.
To get an astronaut safely into space, it takes a big team of clever engineers to design and build a spacecraft, and an even bigger team to co-ordinate blast-off. If you watch the launch of Tim’s Principia Mission, you can see the power needed to shoot a heavy spacecraft through Earth’s atmosphere and into outer space. Watch a clip of Tim’s launch below.
You can build and launch your own spacecraft, with the help of an adult. There might be a few things – like a film canister and antacid tablets – which you don’t have at home or school, so make sure you talk to an adult or teacher beforehand to help you plan your activity.
Details of how to build and launch your own Bubble-Powered Rocket ship are on the NASA website here.
Astrogeology
Younger children will need some assistance with this experiment. It can be messy, so make sure your Space Apprentices have an appropriate place to work!
Planetary geology is an important space science. Geologists examine the structures and surfaces of planets, their volcanoes, moons and the impact of craters on them. Geologists study samples collected during space missions, as well as meteorites that have fallen to Earth, to learn more about the planets in our solar system.
While there are lots of planets in our solar system with volcanoes, astrogeologists are particularly interested in those with active volcanoes, since this is something those planets have in common with Earth. The moons of Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune all have active volcanoes.
You can make your own volcano with everyday items you have at home. Ask an adult to help you create your very own space volcano, by following the instructions here.
Meteorology
Adult supervision is important for this experiment, because it uses boiling water.
Space Apprentices who have researched our solar system will know that the weather on other planets is very different to the weather on Earth. Some planets have extreme solar winds; others have dust storms and hurricanes. Some planets – like Venus – have a thick layer of cloud, which traps heat and creates a greenhouse effect.
You can make your own cloud in a jar with just a few household items. You will need to use hot water in this activity, so it’s important that an adult helps you. By making your own cloud, you can witness firsthand what happens to water as it heats and cools. Next time you look up and the sky and see dark grey rain clouds or fluffy white ones, you’ll be able to tell your friends what’s going on above your head!
To learn how to make a cloud, follow the instructions here.
Biology
Younger children will need some help with this experiment, and all young scientists will need a space where they can make some mess with paint and soil.
Biologists are essential when it comes to space research. Not only do they look at what happens to the human body in space, they also study what happens to plants. This is important because scientists are investigating growing food in space.
There are lots of different challenges associated with growing food in space, because of the lack of soil, direct light, oxygen and gravity. You can explore what happens to plants when their light source is restricted, using a fun phototropism experiment. Plan ahead, because you need to paint some cardboard and wait for it to dry before you can go to the next step. You might like to build your experiment over a few days.
To build your phototropism experiment, click here.
By the children of the Gardening Club at Hillmead Primary School, Bishop’s Stortford, Herts
When we first heard that we were amongst the schools selected to take part in the Rocket Science RHS for Gardening Campaign, to grow seeds that have been orbiting the Earth for six months, we were really excited and told our local newspaper about it. We even received a tweet from Tim Peake!
We did watch Tim’s rocket launch and felt for him flying out into space. Everyone was glad he made it ok.
While waiting for the seeds to be sent to us, we got busy with our space apprenticeship through the Curved House Kids Space Diaries. We have explored how tall we would grow in space, how it would feel to float in microgravity and we have learnt to say ‘hello’ in four different languages! It was fun creating our own spacesuit, especially as most of us made sure there was a ‘nappy’ involved! Breaking the code was a tricky one but our helpful grown-ups gave us some clues, so we could decode Mrs Peake’s message finally.
It has been exciting learning about the planets and their special features. It seems like a good idea to take an umbrella to Neptune – if we ever get there! We have also created our own ISS and Soyuz rockets and imagined ourselves flying out into space.
Now that Scott Kelly has brought the rocket seeds back to Earth, preparations have begun at the gardening club for the great experiment. Halfway through the Space Diary, we are really looking forward to learning more about space and the life of an astronaut. Our space apprenticeship has been fun so far!
Here’s a small selection of some of our favourite pics from the Space Diary programme. We’d like to thank all the teachers, schools, parents and guardians for participating by using the #spacediary hashtag on Twitter, it makes us incredibly happy to see all the kids having so much fun with their Space Diaries! If you would like to be featured or see how other schools and groups are using their Space Diaries simply tweet us @CurvedHouseKids and use the hashtag #spacediary. You can also view more images from the project over on on our Mission Feed!
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- Slamannan School are eager to get started on their Space Diary project
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- Shrubland Street Primary begin their astronaut pre-training.
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- Holme Valley School hold up their Space Diaries
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- A Storemont School student expertly captures the emotions Tim Peake may feel during launch
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- The Oxford Road Community School’s ORSAnauts watch the live stream of the Principia launch
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- RTS Primary School look the part for their Space Diary project
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- A Martham Primary School student shows off his astronaut photo
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- A Hillmead Primary School student exhausted after a fun day of Space Diary activities!
When we teach visual literacy we don’t just teach how to ‘read’ and interpret images, we also explore the interpretation of other visual references. One of these is facial expression and, in particular, understanding emotion. Being able to interpret an emotion, and knowing how to express different emotions, are vital to our interactions with the world. This is a quick exercise to try yourself.
Download and print the worksheet below.
Try to turn this face into a happy face.
What changes will you make to change it’s mood? Are there small changes that can make a big difference? Can you completely reinvent the face? Tweet us a picture to @curvedhousekids or post it to our Facebook page, we’d love to see what you make of it.
Click to download PDF
