Space Month: July
July'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: 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 2: 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 3: Count the stars in a tube
You need: a paper towel tube, a clear night, a pencil and paper.
- Go outside with a grown-up and wait ten minutes for your eyes to get used to the dark.
- Look straight up through the tube and count every star you see in the circle.
- Do it three times in different parts of the sky and add them up.
- Try again somewhere darker, or on a night with no Moon. Do you count more?
Why it works: Lights from towns hide the faint stars. Counting stars in a tube is how scientists and families everywhere measure how dark their sky is.
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: 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 2: 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 3: Count the stars in a tube
You need: a paper towel tube, a clear night, a pencil and paper.
- Go outside with a grown-up and wait ten minutes for your eyes to get used to the dark.
- Look straight up through the tube and count every star you see in the circle.
- Do it three times in different parts of the sky and add them up.
- Try again somewhere darker, or on a night with no Moon. Do you count more?
Why it works: Lights from towns hide the faint stars. Counting stars in a tube is how scientists and families everywhere measure how dark their sky is.
Done it? Date: ____________ Tick for your Sky Book: ☐
More at peabody.kids/space/sky/darker-spot
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.”