Zoom! We’re going to the Moon!
Two favourite things are brought together in this activity: Space theme and Duct Tape. Yep, I introduced my son to the super product that all males in my family adore, duct tape! And what a better use than to create a super shiny rocket ship with it!
This summer we’ve been talking about the solar system and my kids are keenly learning about the planets and are amazed (as am I) to learn how far away the planets are. And why we need strong rocket ships with large tanks of fuel to help travel such long distances.
In our crafty house, next came the request to made a rocket ship and out of the recycling bin came this DIY Rocket Ship idea.
Needed:
• One tall paper towel roll
• 3 toilet paper rolls
• Duct tape (silver is best but pink or yellow would make a cool rocket too)
• Orange tissue paper (one large piece)
• Stickers or sticky foam to decorate
Stand the Paper towel up and tape the three shorter rolls to the tall one. It can be loose and messy as the duct tape will be going on all over them.
Next rip piece of duct tape off and give to your child to stick on. This is fun as there is no wrong way to do it. We covered the top of the rocket with an egg carton cup but you can also just tape over it. Tape over the tops of the small rolls too.
When the duct tape fun is over, decorate the rocket. My son named his “Andrew 58” since we had #5 and #8 stickers available. He also stuck on square stickers as “windows”.
Cut the large piece of tissue paper into 3 equal parts. Then squish and push into the holes of the toilet paper rolls. Glue if you want them to stay there but since my son decided the rocket ship would need fire when flying but no fire when landing on the moon, he wanted the fire to be removable, Hence, no glue.
Next – PLAY! Our rocket has been flying all over the house visiting different rooms (aka: planets!) accompanied to loud Zooming sounds. Amazing fun a child can have with 4 cardboard rolls set for recycling isn’t it?
Another great tie in for the solar system theme is the Lunar Jim. Our friends at Kids’ CBC air a fabulous program called Lunar Jim about an astronaut living on the edge of the Milky Way. Jim has a bunch of cool vehicles on his planet, although none exactly as the Super Rocket like we made, he likes to ride on The Hopper (wheeled vehicle on the moon), his Lunar Lifter (hovering vehicle), The Crawler (kind of like a backhoe on tracks), The Scrambler (his fastest vehicle) and The Scooter for his friend Ripple. These vehicles would be lots of fun to recreate with Lego!
