outer space activities for preschoolers

Outer Space Activities for Preschoolers

Looking for something innovative to engage the preschool kids? Here is our collection of outer space activities for preschoolers that will get them interested in exploring the universe and also teach them a little about our solar system and more.

"Twinkle Twinkle little star, How I wonder what you are, Up above the world so high, Like a diamond in the sky!" Remember when you were taught this nursery rhyme? It was probably during your preschool years, right? This was when you were first introduced to the concept of outer space and you probably never realized it! What is outer space? For preschoolers, it is a mystery. Outer space activities meant for preschool kids should get them interested to explore outer space, in their own small way. Outer space is the region of perfect vacuum. It is the space in which objects such as the planets and their natural satellites move along their trajectories. It is where stars form and die. There is so much more that happens in the outer space and there is so much that's yet to be discovered. Bombarding the kids with such scientific terms and concepts will not work. But introducing them to the universe through fun activities will. In this Buzzle article, we are going to look at some interesting activities for preschoolers that will help them know about the solar system and other celestial bodies. We've included art activities, puzzles, and fun games. Take a look and pick what you like.
Outer Space Activities for Preschool Kids
Solar System
Our first set of outer space activities is built around the solar system. It's one of the most basic areas of knowledge pertaining to space. It's a good idea to introduce the kids to our solar system through interesting activities that will help them know what it is and why it is called so, how many and which planets it holds, and more.
  • Create a 3-d model of our solar system out of clay or paper and explain it to the kids.
  • Conduct an activity to have them remember the names or some fun facts about the planets. You could give them a line like "My Very Earnest Mother Just Served Us Nice Pudding" (where the first letter of each word stands for a planet's name) or ask them to come up with a line of their own.
  • Organize an art and craft activity for the preschoolers, where they model the entire solar system or some planets in it.
  • Conduct a word game where they complete the spellings of planets.
  • Have a quiz where you say a letter and the kids are needed to give you a planet's name starting from it.
  • Show them pictures (online or from books) about how the planets look, whether they have rings, whether they are hot or cold, and so on.
  • Give them paper cutouts of planets and have the kids color them, and/or stick them on a chart paper.
  • Take the kids to an open space and arrange for a telescope. Let them view the planets.
As They Imagine
A different way to get the kids to explore space it to have them imagine it. Through pictures or videos, provide them with some interesting information about space. Ask them to think about the Earth, the Moon, the Sun, and the sky as it looks during the day and at night. Then let the activities begin.
  • Have them create drawings of the outer space.
  • Give them a "Match the pairs" quiz to match objects in space with their colors or shapes, or pictures of celestial bodies (such as the Sun, Moon, or the stars) with their names.
  • On a drawing or model of anything related to outer space (our solar system or the night sky, for example), let the kids take turns to point out/label the objects they know.
Sizes and Distances
The following set of activities is built around sizes and distances in space. Obviously, giving them mathematical figures is not going to help. But some fun activities may help introduce them to the enormity of space or help them distinguish between the sizes of objects in space.
  • Give them cards with facts like "Venus is almost the size of the Earth" or "the Moon is smaller than the Sun", and so on. Then give them an exercise to arrange various bodies in space in the order of their size (You could give them ping-pong balls of different sizes and colors).
  • Give them statements like "the Earth is bigger than the Moon" and have them draw the two showing the difference in their sizes.
  • Give the kids some simple facts about the distances between planets or other bodies in space. For instance, tell them that Venus is closest to the Earth and that Pluto is the farthest from Earth. Now give them three ping-pong balls representing the three bodies and ask the kids to arrange them such that the difference in the distances is shown.
  • Teach them to count from 1 to 9 while they also learn the planet names.
  • Create a model of the solar system and draw their attention to the differences in the sizes of different planets.
Astronomy
Astronomy is the study of the universe as a whole. It includes the study or not just planets and stars, but also comets, satellites, and other such objects in space. Activities built around this will be purely informational. They can be made interesting with the help of audio-visual aids. Here's what you could do.
  • Show the children interesting videos of space flights, how a rocket takes off, a space mission, the moon landing, etc.
  • Show them pictures of astronomers giving them a brief account of each one's work.
  • Give them some interesting information about famous space research organizations.
  • Take the children to a nearby planetarium.
Aliens
One of the most fascinating aspects of outer space is aliens. Children are bound to have questions like, how aliens look, what they eat, and how they communicate. You may organize short story-telling sessions and narrate to them interesting stories about aliens. To add some fun to this activity, get some spacesuits and masks for them to wear. You could have activities like these:
  • Have a fancy dress competition themed 'alien'.
  • Have the kids take turns to tell imaginary stories of aliens.
  • Collect fun experiences that people claim to have had with aliens and narrate their stories to the kids.
  • Have the kids draw aliens as they imagine them to be.
  • Create a jigsaw puzzle of an alien figure and have the kids solve it.
  • Have them enact alien behavior.
  • Help them find words related to aliens or give them such words and their meanings.
  • Make coloring pages based on the theme.
These were some interesting and educational outer space activities for preschoolers. Though the kids are too young to understand the mysteries of outer space, fun activities can definitely help introduce them to the amazing universe that we all are a part of.

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