Space Month: April
April's four space missions, one a week, made from things you already have at home. Do one, tap "I did it!", and a badge goes in your Sky Book.
Week 1: Make a star pattern projector
You need: a paper cup, a pin, a small flashlight, a dark room.
- Pick a star pattern on Peabody and copy its dots onto the bottom of the cup, as you see them in the drawing.
- ✂️ Grown-up step: Poke a hole at each dot.
- In a dark room, shine the flashlight into the cup and point the bottom at the ceiling. Your star pattern shines over your bed.
- Turn the cup over: the pattern flips. That's why you face the right way to find it in the sky.
Why it works: Star patterns are shapes people see in stars that are very far apart. Learning one indoors makes it much easier to find outside.
Little ones: The pin is a grown-up's job.
Week 2: Count shooting stars
You need: the shower night kit, printed, a blanket or a reclining chair, warm clothes, a pencil.
- Check Peabody's shower calendar for the next good meteor shower night.
- Lie back with a grown-up somewhere dark, and look at the biggest patch of sky you can see.
- Make a mark for every shooting star in each ten minutes. Note the brightest one.
Why it works: Shooting stars are bits of dust, smaller than a grain of sand, burning up as they hit our air very fast. On a shower night, Earth passes through a comet's trail of dust.
Week 3: Take a planet walk
You need: a ball for the Sun (a basketball, softball or ping-pong ball), nine sticky notes or the printed signs, a long sidewalk, path or park.
- Pick your Sun ball on Planet Walk. It tells you how far apart the planets go and how big each one is.
- Put the Sun down and walk, counting steps, to each planet. Leave a sign at each one.
- Stop and look back at the Sun from Neptune.
Why it works: The planets are tiny and far apart. Most of the solar system is empty space, and a walk is the only way to feel how much.
Week 4: Launch a balloon rocket
You need: a balloon, a long string, a drinking straw, tape, two chairs.
- Thread the string through the straw and tie it tight between two chairs across the room.
- Blow up the balloon and hold its neck shut. Don't tie it.
- Tape the balloon under the straw, then let go.
- Try a bigger breath, or a longer balloon. Which goes farthest?
Why it works: Air rushes out of the back and pushes the balloon forward. Real rockets work the same way: they push hot gas out of the back, which pushes them up.
Little ones: Balloons are a choking danger for under-eights: a grown-up blows it up and holds it, and pieces of a popped balloon go straight in the bin.
Week 1: Make a star pattern projector
You need: a paper cup, a pin, a small flashlight, a dark room.
- Pick a star pattern on Peabody and copy its dots onto the bottom of the cup, as you see them in the drawing.
- ✂️ Grown-up step: Poke a hole at each dot.
- In a dark room, shine the flashlight into the cup and point the bottom at the ceiling. Your star pattern shines over your bed.
- Turn the cup over: the pattern flips. That's why you face the right way to find it in the sky.
Why it works: Star patterns are shapes people see in stars that are very far apart. Learning one indoors makes it much easier to find outside.
Little ones: The pin is a grown-up's job.
Done it? Date: ____________ Tick for your Sky Book: ☐
More at peabody.kids/space/sky/stars
Week 2: Count shooting stars
You need: the shower night kit, printed, a blanket or a reclining chair, warm clothes, a pencil.
- Check Peabody's shower calendar for the next good meteor shower night.
- Lie back with a grown-up somewhere dark, and look at the biggest patch of sky you can see.
- Make a mark for every shooting star in each ten minutes. Note the brightest one.
Why it works: Shooting stars are bits of dust, smaller than a grain of sand, burning up as they hit our air very fast. On a shower night, Earth passes through a comet's trail of dust.
Done it? Date: ____________ Tick for your Sky Book: ☐
More at peabody.kids/space/showers
Week 3: Take a planet walk
You need: a ball for the Sun (a basketball, softball or ping-pong ball), nine sticky notes or the printed signs, a long sidewalk, path or park.
- Pick your Sun ball on Planet Walk. It tells you how far apart the planets go and how big each one is.
- Put the Sun down and walk, counting steps, to each planet. Leave a sign at each one.
- Stop and look back at the Sun from Neptune.
Why it works: The planets are tiny and far apart. Most of the solar system is empty space, and a walk is the only way to feel how much.
Done it? Date: ____________ Tick for your Sky Book: ☐
More at peabody.kids/space/planet-walk
Week 4: Launch a balloon rocket
You need: a balloon, a long string, a drinking straw, tape, two chairs.
- Thread the string through the straw and tie it tight between two chairs across the room.
- Blow up the balloon and hold its neck shut. Don't tie it.
- Tape the balloon under the straw, then let go.
- Try a bigger breath, or a longer balloon. Which goes farthest?
Why it works: Air rushes out of the back and pushes the balloon forward. Real rockets work the same way: they push hot gas out of the back, which pushes them up.
Little ones: Balloons are a choking danger for under-eights: a grown-up blows it up and holds it, and pieces of a popped balloon go straight in the bin.
Done it? Date: ____________ Tick for your Sky Book: ☐
Every month
“One small mission a week. By the end of the month you'll know more about space than most grown-ups.”