Space Month: October
October'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: Watch the Moon for a week
You need: Peabody's Moon journal, printed (or a page with seven circles), a pencil.
- Check Sky Tonight to see when the Moon is up this week.
- Each night (or morning) you can see it, shade the dark part of a circle so the white part is what you see. Write the date.
- At the end of the week, line up your Moons. Is it growing or shrinking?
Why it works: The Moon goes around Earth about once a month, so it changes a little every night. A week of drawings shows it moving through its 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.
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: 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: Watch the Moon for a week
You need: Peabody's Moon journal, printed (or a page with seven circles), a pencil.
- Check Sky Tonight to see when the Moon is up this week.
- Each night (or morning) you can see it, shade the dark part of a circle so the white part is what you see. Write the date.
- At the end of the week, line up your Moons. Is it growing or shrinking?
Why it works: The Moon goes around Earth about once a month, so it changes a little every night. A week of drawings shows it moving through its phases.
Done it? Date: ____________ Tick for your Sky Book: ☐
More at peabody.kids/space/print/moon-journal
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: 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: 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.”