Space Month: June
June'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 red stargazing light
You need: a flashlight, red cellophane, a red balloon or red paper, a rubber band.
- Cover the front of the flashlight with two or three layers of red.
- Hold it on with the rubber band.
- Outside, after ten minutes in the dark, read a page with the red light. Then flash a white light for a second and see how many stars disappear.
Why it works: Your eyes take about twenty minutes to get used to the dark. Red light doesn't undo that much; white light undoes it in a second.
Little ones: Balloons and rubber bands are small parts: a grown-up puts the cover on.
Week 2: Take tonight's sky tour
You need: a phone or tablet with Peabody, a clear night.
- Open Tonight's sky tour and go out with a grown-up.
- Follow Peabody's five steps, one at a time. Tap Found it for each one you see.
- Pick your favourite and find it again tomorrow night, without the tour.
Why it works: Knowing which way to face and how high to look (one fist held out is about ten degrees) is how astronomers find their way around the sky.
Week 3: Make a pinhole Sun viewer
You need: two pieces of white card (a cereal box works), a pin or a sharp pencil, a sunny day.
- Print Peabody's pinhole viewer, or draw a cross in the middle of one card.
- ✂️ Grown-up step: Poke a tiny hole at the cross.
- Stand with your back to the Sun. Hold the pinhole card up and let its spot of light fall on the second card.
- Move the cards apart: the spot of light gets bigger. It is a picture of the Sun itself.
Why it works: A tiny hole makes a picture of whatever is bright beyond it. It's the safe way to watch the Sun: you look at the card, never at the Sun.
Little ones: The pin is a grown-up's job.
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 red stargazing light
You need: a flashlight, red cellophane, a red balloon or red paper, a rubber band.
- Cover the front of the flashlight with two or three layers of red.
- Hold it on with the rubber band.
- Outside, after ten minutes in the dark, read a page with the red light. Then flash a white light for a second and see how many stars disappear.
Why it works: Your eyes take about twenty minutes to get used to the dark. Red light doesn't undo that much; white light undoes it in a second.
Little ones: Balloons and rubber bands are small parts: a grown-up puts the cover on.
Done it? Date: ____________ Tick for your Sky Book: ☐
More at peabody.kids/space/sky
Week 2: Take tonight's sky tour
You need: a phone or tablet with Peabody, a clear night.
- Open Tonight's sky tour and go out with a grown-up.
- Follow Peabody's five steps, one at a time. Tap Found it for each one you see.
- Pick your favourite and find it again tomorrow night, without the tour.
Why it works: Knowing which way to face and how high to look (one fist held out is about ten degrees) is how astronomers find their way around the sky.
Done it? Date: ____________ Tick for your Sky Book: ☐
More at peabody.kids/space/sky/tour
Week 3: Make a pinhole Sun viewer
You need: two pieces of white card (a cereal box works), a pin or a sharp pencil, a sunny day.
- Print Peabody's pinhole viewer, or draw a cross in the middle of one card.
- ✂️ Grown-up step: Poke a tiny hole at the cross.
- Stand with your back to the Sun. Hold the pinhole card up and let its spot of light fall on the second card.
- Move the cards apart: the spot of light gets bigger. It is a picture of the Sun itself.
Why it works: A tiny hole makes a picture of whatever is bright beyond it. It's the safe way to watch the Sun: you look at the card, never at the Sun.
Little ones: The pin is a grown-up's job.
Done it? Date: ____________ Tick for your Sky Book: ☐
More at peabody.kids/space/eclipses
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.”