As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
This is a fun, hands-on activity to teach your kids the concept of space orbits!
My son has been really interested in outer space recently! He’s memorized the planets and the order in which they orbit the sun.
As a homeschooling mom, I try to expand on the subjects he’s interested in. We had a lot of fun doing this space orbits play dough activity together! Of course, anything with play dough is fun…and this activity really helped him to visualize what the orbits look like.
What is an orbit?
An orbit is the path that something takes to go around a star (such as the sun), a planet or a moon. Some orbits are in the shape of a circle, while others are oval. Gravity affects the shape and speed of an orbit.
Read more about orbits here.
Watch the space orbit activity video!
How do you make homemade playdough?
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of all purpose flour
- 1 cup of water
- 2 teaspoons of cream of tartar
- 1/3 cup of salt
- 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
- food coloring
Step 1: Add all of the dry ingredients to a cool pot, and whisk together. Then, add the water, oil and food coloring and whisk together until it is smooth.
Step 2: Place the pot over medium heat and stir continuously until it forms a dough ball. It may take about 3-5 minutes.
Step 3: Remove the playdough from the pot and let it cool on parchment paper, a plate, or a sheet pan. As it’s cooling, it may develop a white film on the surface (it’s just the salt, don’t worry). If this happens, simply knead the playdough for a minute or two.
Let’s do the space orbits activity!
You will need:
- yellow, white, green and blue playdough (either store bought or homemade)
- a pie pan, preferably one with handles
- a chopstick
Step 1: Form a ball with the yellow playdough. This will represent the sun. Gently press the ball into the center of the pie pan, so that it sticks to the pan.
Step 2: Form a ball with the blue playdough. Then, decorate it with small pieces of green playdough to make it look like the earth.
Step 3: Place the earth into the pie pan and gently rotate it so that it revolves around the sun.
Step 4: Next, remove the sun, and gently press the earth into the middle of the pie pan.
Step 5: Form a ball with the white playdough. Use the end of a chopstick to create the moon’s craters.
Step 6: Place the moon into the pie pan and gently rotate it so that it revolves around the earth.
Note: Explain to your child that while the moon is orbiting the earth, the earth is orbiting the sun.
Try these other outer space activities!
- Layers of the Earth Playdough Activity with Free Printable
- Playdough Earth Activity with Free Printable
- Kids’ Upcycled Stamping Craft for Earth Day
- Fun and Easy Earth Cookies for Earth Day
As always, sharing is caring! Please click on the buttons below to share this post with your friends!
