Excitement about outer space has recently exploded in our home. I have tried to nurture that interest in my child by finding fun and engaging art projects to work on together at home.
Learning for young kids is about the experience: the textures and creative storytelling that happen as you work together. Don't worry so much about the actual science and facts when they're toddlers — it's far more interesting to hear what your toddler thinks and why!
I asked Rachel McMinn, an early childhood educator from Tribeca, New York, for ideas on space-related art projects. Here are three she loves in her classroom:
Soda Bottle Rocket Ship
What You Need:
- Empty and clean plastic soda bottle
- Acrylic paint
- Paintbrush
- Star stickers
- Construction paper (red, orange, yellow, or any of your child's choice)
- Tacky glue
What You Do:
1. Peel off the label from the plastic bottle.
2. Paint the entire outside of the plastic bottle in a color of your child's choice. Allow it to dry.
3. Decorate the rocket ship with stickers and cut out red, orange, and yellow construction paper to look like flames. Glue them to the bottom of the rocket ship.
4. When everything is dry, blast your rocket ship off for creative play or hang it from the ceiling for decoration.
Splatter Paint Galaxy
What You Need:
- Black canvas (you can paint a white canvas black; acrylic paint is best)
- Neon paint colors, silver, gold, and white (IKEA mala paint is fantastic)
- Paintbrush
- A garbage bag or washable mat to place under the canvas to reduce mess
What You Do:
1. Prepare your black canvas and set up a workspace (we opted to go outside on the sidewalk). To reduce mess, put a garbage bag or mat you can wipe off underneath.
2. First, dip your paintbrush into the white paint. Either dribble the paint onto the canvas or flick it, Jackson Pollock-style.
3. Continue to add more colors in the same way. For added sparkle, you can sprinkle a little glitter too!
Earth Squish Painting
What You Need:
- Blue, green, and gold or brown paint
- A recycled plastic lid (a large yogurt container size works!)
- OR you could use a muffin tin and make many planets at once
- White paper or canvas
What You Do:
1. Squirt a little bit of blue, green, and gold or brown paint onto the outside of the plastic lid or upside-down muffin tray. If you're using the muffin tray, you may also want to use red and yellow to make various planets.
2. Turn the lid or tray over onto your prepared white paper or canvas. Squish it down, and you can even turn it a bit to swirl and mix the colors. Lift the lid or tray and – voila! – your Earth or planets will appear.
