Alien toys have been popular with children for a while now, and lots of space-age toys and activities can be created quite cheaply.
Space soaps
Reasonably priced packs of small plastic figures are easily available.
Using them, children can make their own fun soaps with an alien visible inside - they're great for encouraging children to wash their hands because when they've used the soap up, they get to play with the long-awaited toy! (Some craft shops now stock large bags of soap specifically for these types of activities, but you can use any glycerine product.) Children should wash their alien in washing-up liquid, dry it, and place it in the bottom of a clean margarine container that will serve as a mould. A block of both clear and coloured glycerine soap should be cut into dice-sized cubes - warm it in the microwave for a few seconds to soften first if necessary. (Depending on the ability of the children, you may prefer an adult to do this.) The clear soap cubes should be melted (not boiled) in the microwave in an old jug and then poured into the mould until it is filled three-quarters of the way. A few cubes of coloured soap are pushed into the clear soap as it begins to cool, so that once the clear soap is set the coloured cubes will still be intact within it. When hard (two hours or one in the fridge), the mould needs to be twisted slightly in order to pop the soap out. The alien will be visible inside, and the blocks of coloured soap will look attractive too.
Space race rockets
Give the children some exciting real life information about the 1960s Soviet/American space race to moon walk, showing pictures of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo rockets and the Lunar module. Pictures of early moon landings fascinate many children, and this year sees the 45th anniversary of the first Russian landing. All the information you need can be found easily in books and on the internet - the websites listed below are a great place to start.
Why not follow up the fact-finding by challenging children to have a space race of their own? Split the group into teams, and equip each one with a hefty stack of newspapers and sticky-tape. Challenge them to build a rocket that one team member can fit inside, using only the resources provided.
Demonstrate how paper can be rolled up to form stiff tubes to make the skeleton of the rocket, screwed into balls to provide stability for the skeleton (so the rocket will stand up), and can also be used in flat sheets as a skin over the skeleton. Then set the teams on their way. Be sure to leave plenty of time afterwards for free play with the creations - children love mock launches with countdowns, missions and landings. See below for details of an online glossary of simple space terms - great for adlibbing astronaut-style during role play!
Alternatively, equip children with suitable scrap materials, including plenty of large boxes, shiny silver items including foil, and an abundance of tape, paper, scissors, glue and mark-making materials. Give children a few minutes to plan the design of their rocket, and let them get to work for a set period of time. At the end, the group can visit the launch pad of each team in turn to admire their crafts and hear about any special features.
Galactic gear
Children may also like to design their own space suits - in addition to your usual craft supplies, have lots of fabric scraps, large pieces of white paper and shiny foil available, as well as pictures of astronauts for them to refer to if they want, but they may prefer their own original design. Large, strong bin bags with arm and head holes cut out make an excellent base for their suit, and additional bin bags can be cut up and wrapped around legs - a few good lengths of tape can give a tailored fit if desired! Children can have fun for quite some time working in pairs to dress themselves suitably for space travel...
Flying saucers
These can easily be created from two paper plates and two recycled aluminium pie dishes. Children simply turn one plate upside down, stand the dish in the centre of the plate and trace a circle around it - this is then cut out and discarded. The dish can now be poked through the hole and taped into place by its rim. Repeat the process again with the second plate. Then stick the two plates right side together with a glue stick to create the flying saucer shape. The model can be painted or covered in foil, and then features including doors and windows can be added with decorative items such as sequins and stickers.
Children can twist an alien out of pipe cleaners, and allow it to pilot the saucer by piercing a small hole in the dish and pushing the legs of the alien through. Alternatively, children might like to draw the face of their alien pilot and stick it on to one of the dishes.
Why not display them all on a moon crater surface? Simply spread a layer of plaster of Paris over a sheet of bubblewrap and paint it when it has gone hard for a fantastic effect - it's great for displaying 'moon rocks' too.
Children simply find some small rocks and (although the real articles are quite plain) decorate them however they like - provide plenty of glitter and paint to inspire them!
Quick quiz
A space theme lends itself well to a quiz as there are so many facts and figures that can be revealed during the session in preparation. Noughts and crosses quizzes are fun - split the group into a team of noughts and a team of crosses. Arrange nine chairs in three rows of three to represent the grid. Toss a coin to see which team goes first as questions will be asked alternatively. Ask a child from the winning team a question. If they get it right they can go and sit on a chair - the first team to get three players in a row is the winner. This allows for quick rounds and eliminates quiz boredom. Children who don't like to answer questions can just be the 'playing pieces' if desired. Ask the children from the 'cross' team to cross their arms when they sit down so you can easily distinguish them from the noughts.
Paper bag rockets
In this easy activity, children decorate bags to look like rockets or shuttles, perhaps by drawing the images on with felt tips. A balloon is blown up (but not tied) and inserted into the bag, and when it is let loose, the bag will 'launch into space'. It's simple, but great fun - children want to repeat it over and over again!
Stargazers
To make a stargazer, children cover the end of a kitchen roll tube with black paper. They make a few holes in the paper with a cocktail stick, to represent a constellation. When children hold their scopes to their eyes and look towards the light they will see an impressive mini-planetarium effect.
Quick comets
Quick to make, these 'comet' balls are ideal to use for more challenging ball games as they are easier to catch than ordinary balls. A scrap of fabric is cut into a 15cm square, and a quarter of a cup of rice is placed in the middle. Four long streamers of ribbon are placed on top of the rice, and the fabric is twisted into a ball (with the streamers coming out of one end). The fabric is tied up tightly with string.
WEBSITE TIPS
* www.kidsdomain.com/brain/space/craft.html
Visit here to print off a fun black hole board game to colour, assemble and play.
A good site for information, stories and news, it also has a fun-zone.
Download a fun children's glossary of space terms here.
This site has a great quiz and many links worth exploring.
Here you can learn about space history, facts and news with cartoon online guide, Arty Astronaut. You can see earth as if from space, and construct a virtual space station too.