How long does it take to get into space? Can we live on another planet? Do aliens really exist? Space is such a magical topic for children as their are so many questions and ideas that they can explore about the topic. As we don't have all of the answers children have the space to use their imaginations to come up with ideas and theories on how the wider world works outside Earth. What is more interesting than the unknown of space?

Here are some activities that you can try at home to explore our wider world:

SPACE STORY ROCKS

What you will need

• Rocks
• Paint / chalk markers

Create your own space rocks. When finished, choose one image at a time . Now create a story taking the picture as an idea, for example, 'once upon a time there was a green alien who lived on Mars'. Choose your next stone and continue the story. This is a great activity to get some one on one time with your child while practicing turn-taking, language and having fun!

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SPACE SENSORY TRAY

What you will need

• Rice
• Black water based paint
• Bowl
• Space figures
• Fine motor tools
• Tuff tray or container

Set up

• Put some rice into a bowl and add in a drop of water based black paint. Mix well and leave to dry over night.
• Pour the now dyed and dry colour rice into your tuff tray or container.
• Place the space adventures in the tray and add in some fine motor tools or spoons.

Now you can have lots of fun exploring your sensory tray as you can pretend that you have flown to a new planet.

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MAKE THE PLANETS

What you will need

• Playdough
• Solar system tuff tray mat
• Paper
• Colours / crayons

Our solar system tuff tray mat is a great way to explore the solar system and some of the other bigger planets that we know of. There are lots of planets of various sizes in the solar system. We can explore this by using mad mattr to recreate the planets that are on the tuff tray mat. Can you roll the mad mattr into a small ball like Pluto?? How much mad mattr will you need to make the big sun?
Another way of exploring the planets on the solar system tuff tray mat is to grab some paper and colours and recreate the planets by drawing them, exploring their size, shape and colours. Explore what makes each planet different.

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MYSTERY WATER

What you will need

• Blue water based paint
• Water
• Large bowl or container
• Space figures
• Natural materials (Stone, twigs, etc.)
• Fine motor tools and small containers / bowls

Set up

• Pour water into a large bowl or container and add a small amount of water based paint. Stir well until the water has turned blue.
• Add in the space figures and natural materials into the bottom of the bowl/container.
• Have the spoons/ fine motor tools/ bowls available beside the container.

Use the spoons or fine motor tools to hunt inside the mystery water to see what you can find. Explore the different textures and weights of the figures and natural materials. Does it sink or does it float? Can you fit everything into a smaller bowl? How many items can you fish out??

Remember, you don't have to have all of the answers to the questions, have fun testing theories and finding new ways of learning!