Space Month: February
February'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 Moon box
You need: a shoebox with a lid, a ball about the size of a ping-pong ball (or a ball of foil), a string and tape, a small flashlight, a pencil.
- Hang the ball from the middle of the lid on a short string, so it dangles in the middle of the box.
- ✂️ Grown-up step: Cut a peephole in the middle of each of the four sides, and one more hole in a corner for the flashlight.
- Shine the flashlight in through the corner hole. That's the Sun.
- Look through each peephole in turn and draw what you see: a full ball, half a ball, a thin crescent, or almost nothing.
Why it works: The ball is always half lit, like the Moon. What changes is how much of the lit half you can see from where you look. That's all the Moon's phases are.
Week 2: 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 3: Spot the space station
You need: Peabody's Station Passes for your area, a clear evening or morning.
- Find the next visible pass this week, and set a reminder.
- Go out a few minutes early with a grown-up and face where it appears.
- Look for a steady bright dot moving smoothly across the sky, with no blinking lights. Wave: people live there.
Why it works: The station goes around Earth about every hour and a half. You see it because sunlight is still shining on it, high up, after it's dark where you are.
Week 4: Make Moon craters
You need: a baking tray, flour, a spoonful of cocoa powder, marbles, pebbles or balls of foil.
- Fill the tray with flour about two fingers deep, and smooth it. Sprinkle a thin layer of cocoa on top.
- Drop a marble from knee height, then from shoulder height. Look at the hole and the splash of flour around it.
- Lift the marble out carefully and try a bigger one, or drop one at a slant.
Why it works: The Moon's craters are where rocks from space crashed into it. With no air or rain, the craters stay for billions of years; the bright streaks around some of them are splashes, like your flour.
Little ones: Marbles and pebbles are small parts: under-fives use balls of foil bigger than a fist, and a grown-up stays close.
Week 1: Make a Moon box
You need: a shoebox with a lid, a ball about the size of a ping-pong ball (or a ball of foil), a string and tape, a small flashlight, a pencil.
- Hang the ball from the middle of the lid on a short string, so it dangles in the middle of the box.
- ✂️ Grown-up step: Cut a peephole in the middle of each of the four sides, and one more hole in a corner for the flashlight.
- Shine the flashlight in through the corner hole. That's the Sun.
- Look through each peephole in turn and draw what you see: a full ball, half a ball, a thin crescent, or almost nothing.
Why it works: The ball is always half lit, like the Moon. What changes is how much of the lit half you can see from where you look. That's all the Moon's phases are.
Done it? Date: ____________ Tick for your Sky Book: ☐
More at peabody.kids/space/moon/phases
Week 2: 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 3: Spot the space station
You need: Peabody's Station Passes for your area, a clear evening or morning.
- Find the next visible pass this week, and set a reminder.
- Go out a few minutes early with a grown-up and face where it appears.
- Look for a steady bright dot moving smoothly across the sky, with no blinking lights. Wave: people live there.
Why it works: The station goes around Earth about every hour and a half. You see it because sunlight is still shining on it, high up, after it's dark where you are.
Done it? Date: ____________ Tick for your Sky Book: ☐
More at peabody.kids/space/sky/station
Week 4: Make Moon craters
You need: a baking tray, flour, a spoonful of cocoa powder, marbles, pebbles or balls of foil.
- Fill the tray with flour about two fingers deep, and smooth it. Sprinkle a thin layer of cocoa on top.
- Drop a marble from knee height, then from shoulder height. Look at the hole and the splash of flour around it.
- Lift the marble out carefully and try a bigger one, or drop one at a slant.
Why it works: The Moon's craters are where rocks from space crashed into it. With no air or rain, the craters stay for billions of years; the bright streaks around some of them are splashes, like your flour.
Little ones: Marbles and pebbles are small parts: under-fives use balls of foil bigger than a fist, and a grown-up stays close.
Done it? Date: ____________ Tick for your Sky Book: ☐
More at peabody.kids/space/world/moon
Every month
“One small mission a week. By the end of the month you'll know more about space than most grown-ups.”