Moon STEM Pack
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Moon Landing Science STEM Pack M O O N S C I E N C E & S T E M P A C K INTRODUCTION: Welcome to your Moon Theme STEM Pack filled with great science activities and STEM projects every junior scientist or astronaut should try! I hope it sparks creativity and curiosity within your young scientists, inventors, and engineers. In this pack, find a fun selection of neat moon theme activities, challenges, and activities. I have added supplies, setup instructions, and simple science information for each activity. The pack also includes STEM projects and a few fun extras to share with your kids. A new lunar landing STEM story also awaits your budding readers! Feel free to use this pack with one junior scientist or a whole group of junior engineers. You may copy activities as many times as you like for your class, but please send your friends to grab their pack instead of sharing files. ~ Thank you! M O O N S T E M P A C K E X T R A S Build a rocket, make a Thaumatrope, play bingo or I-Spy! S T E M : S T O R Y C H A L L E N G E Go on a STEM filled adventure with this Lunar Landing STEM Adventure pack! Read the story and solve the challenges. What's Included: Engaging STEM Story STEM Challenges STEM Journal Pages STEM Supply List STEM Drawing Page S T E M : M O O N C H A L L E N G E S Add these Moon theme STEM challenge cards to a simple engineering kit filled with easy to find supplies. Encourage the kids to get creative! Fun individual or group activity. What's Included: Moon STEM Challenges STEM Design Process STEM Supply List M O O N : S C R E E N F R E E C O D I N G Explore and learn about binary code and algorithms with screen-fee activities! What's Included: Printable Algorithm Game Printable Binary Code Craft Both activities have their own instructional pages as part of the packs! N E I L A R M S T R O N G Learn more about Neil Armstrong with this workbook pack. M O O N P H A S E S A C T I V I T I E S Grab some cookies and recreate the phases of the moon! Put together a mini-moon book to learn about each phase or chart the moon on a calendar! A P O L L O L A N D I N G Learn all about the lunar landing of Apollo 11 that put the first two men on the moon! Make your own mini book to celebrate the anniversary or explore the landing of Apollo 11. M O O N A C T I V I T I E S Explore hands-on activities with a moon theme for easy to setup STEAM activities. Sensory, science, art, and more! Go ahead and cut out and color the moon below too. M O O N : M A K I N G C R A T E R S SUPPLIES: 4 cups of baking flour 1/2 cup of cooking oil Small rocks, marbles, or other weighted objects (for making craters) Astronaut figure (for sensory play after the crater making activity) Round baking pan PROCESS: STEP 1: Add 4 cups or so of any baking flour to a bowl. STEP 2: Add a 1/2 cup of cooking oil to the flour and mix! TIP: The mixture should be moldable or packable. STEP 3: Add the mixture to your circular "moon" shaped pan! Get your objects ready for making moon craters. You can lightly smooth out the surface of the mixture, so your craters are more visible. STEP 4: Making craters is simple and fun. Read more about craters below. To explore moon craters, have your kids drop a variety of weighted objects onto the surface as seen below). Slowly and carefully remove the object and examine the crater. Tip: Enjoy sensory play with the moon dough too! Scoops, small figures, and small containers can fill and dump this fun mixture. Or recreate your own moon landing with mini astronauts. W H A T A R E M O O N C R A T E R S ? HOW ARE CRATERS FORMED? Is the moon made of cheese, Swiss cheese to be exact, because of all the holes? Those holes aren't cheese, they are in fact moon craters! The South Pole-Aitken Basin is the most significant and well-known crater on the moon along with others called Tycho, Maria, and even Apollo! Craters are formed on the lunar surface, so they are called lunar craters or impact craters. The craters are made from asteroids or meteorites that collide with the lunar surface just like the rocks or marbles collide with the moon sand when you drop them! There are thousands of craters on the moon surface. The moon does not have the same atmosphere as we do here on earth, so it is not protected from asteroids or meteorites hitting the surface. Some characteristics of a crater include loose material that is scattered around the outside of the depression, a rim around the perimeter, a mostly flat crater floor, and sloped crater walls. We have craters here on earth, but water and plant life cover them better. The moon does not have much going on in terms of erosion such as rain or wind or even volcanic activity to change the appearance or camouflage the craters. Nor is there vegetation to cover them. Just like the craters you made in your moon dough, not all of them will have the same depth or diameter. Some of the largest craters in circumference are considered pretty shallow at 15,000 feet deep. Whereas some newer craters are over 12 miles deep but smaller in the distance around! M O O N : C O O K I E M O O N P H A S E S SUPPLIES: Chocolate and cream cookie sandwiches Paper plate Plastic fork or spoon Markers: black, blue and green Printable phases of the moon pack PROCESS: STEP 1: Open up a pack of cookies and twist 8 cookies apart carefully. STEP 2: Use the edge of a fork to draw a line down the center of the icing, carefully scrape off half the icing, and set onto the top of the paper plate to begin your first quarter Moon cycle. STEP 3: Work from left to right on your cookie moon cycle, with next being waxing gibbous. Use the fork to draw the line, scrape off the icing, and set on the left of the first quarter Moon. STEP 4: Work your way around: full Moon, waning gibbous, third quarter, waning crescent, new, waning crescent, and back to the first quarter. STEP 5: Once all the Moon’s are on the plate in a circle, carefully draw the Earth in the center with markers. STEP 6: Use a marker or pen to write which Moon phase each cookie represents next to the appropriate Moon cookie model. Learn about the Moon's phases: Use the phases of the Moon printable mini book pack to learn about each phase while you enjoy some cookies and a glass of milk! M O O N : M O O N P H A S E S C R A F T SUPPLIES: White paper plate Blue and green felt (or paper) Thin black felt (or paper) White paper 1” circle punch Ruler Marker or pens Scissors Printable moon phases pack PROCESS: STEP 1: Draw and cut a 3” circle out of blue and green felt or paper. STEP 2: Glue the green circle to the center of the plate. STEP 3: Cut out the water from your blue circle and glue to the green circle to make the Earth. STEP 4: Use the circle punch to punch out 8 black pieces of felt and glue them around the Earth. If you don't have a circular punch, go on a hunt for the right size circular object to trace instead! STEP 5: Use the punch to make 8 white circles and cut them out according to the Moon phases. STEP 6: Glue the white cut circles on top of the black circles and let them dry. STEP 7: Use your marker to write the Moon’s phases by each moon. Learn about the Moon's phases: Use the phases of the moon printable mini book pack to learn about each phase as you assemble this craft! Which phase of the Moon are you in today? M O O N : F I Z Z Y M O O N R O C K S SUPPLIES: Baking Soda White Vinegar Water Black, blue, purple food coloring Glitter (optional) Pipette, meat baster, or squeeze bottle PROCESS: STEP 1: Add a few cups of baking soda to a bowl. This will be a recipe you play by ear depending on how many moon rocks you want to make! STEP 2: In a separate container color the water as desired. We chose a dark, spacey theme. Just remember once the color mixes with the white baking soda, it won't be as dark. STEP 3: Slowly add the colored water to the baking soda a little bit at a time. Add a few shakes of glitter if desired. TIP: You want to aim for a crumbly mixture that makes a "snowball" when packed together.