Tag Archives: space

Once Upon a Time…in a Galaxy Far, Far Away…

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The tale of Cinderella takes an intergalactic spin with this charming paper cup rocket. Never underestimate the power of a space ship. The story time kids LOVED this project!

We read Interstellar Cinderella, written by Deborah Underwood, and illustrated by Meg Hunt (Chronicle Books, 2015). When Cinderella, our tool-handy heroine, is kept from attending the Prince’s Royal Space Parade, she is visited by her Fairy Godrobot. Cinderella arrives to the parade just in time, as the Prince’s ship is malfunctioning and only she can fix it! Cinderella and the Prince have a blast talking mechanics, but she flees at midnight, leaving behind her sonic socket wrench. The Prince circles the galaxy, intent on finding the only person who can fix his ship. It’s Cinderella, and no, she doesn’t want to get married. She wants to be his chief mechanic!

You’ll need:

  • 1 paper cup
  • Space ship decor
  • Scissors, tape, and glue for construction
  • Markers for decorating
  • Hot glue

As you can see, this rocket is a paper cup propped up on little legs. We had some extra Petri dish lids (leftover from this Hobbit door project) that made terrific windshields, but that’s totally optional!

For decor, we offered embossed foil paper, color mirror board, twisteez wire, star stickers, large gemstones, metallic mesh tubing, plastic cup boosters with tissue paper flames, and little plastic blocks for landing gear.

Ready for take off!

THE MYSTERY CLOSET

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This April Fool’s day, I decided to transform a tiny, unremarkable closet in my house into what my kids and I have dubbed THE MYSTERY CLOSET. The challenge was to create it for under $20. My friends, the grand total was $19.30. Details below!

The ultimate goal for THE MYSTERY CLOSET was that it be a place for writing. While we each have a desk in our bedroom, and while there is an art project table in the kitchen, I felt there also needed to be a dedicated space for our household typewriter. It had been sitting on a buffet table in the dining room, but the height and location of the buffet meant you had to stand to type. The results were just a few sentences here and there. I theorized that if I lowered the height of the typewriter, and allowed space for a chair to be pulled up, it would result in longer stories. I was way right.

There were 2 major limitations to this project: size and budget. The closet is very tiny. A mere 12″ deep and 43″ across. Luckily, I had an old table in the attic that fit. There’s just enough space on the table for the typewriter and a metal basket with blank paper underneath. Scoot a chair over from the dining table, and you have yourself a desk!

Budget was the other concern. I solved it by using items already in the house – xmas ornaments, halloween decorations, hats from the costume bin, a red tassel I found in my nightstand, a rediscovered world map, a…uh…green glow-in-the-dark pig that oinks when you squeeze it, etc.

I papered the upper shelf with the world map, but the London Underground map you see on the back wall is actually wrapping paper from a local bookstore! I also bought a dozen postcards. The final purchase was a Magic 8 Ball mug, deeply discounted, from Target.

And for you eagle eyes who spotted Bill Cipher, the question mark Post-it note, and the 8 Ball…yes, we are huge Gravity Falls fans. Fun fact: the first sentence I left the kids on THE MYSTERY CLOSET typewriter was “Stan is not what he seems.” #teamwaddles

And speaking of ciphers, the new installation did include a coded message. I dropped 2 copies of the pigpen cipher in the metal basket, and left a Post-it message to the kids nearby:

The grand finale? This closet is wired with overhead LIGHTS! There’s no electrical outlet, so I used battery-operated LED string light stars from IKEA (a leftover xmas stocking stuffer). The battery box is taped to the interior door frame, within easy reach.

The London Underground wrapping paper cost $4.50, The Magic 8 Ball mug was $2.80, and the postcards cost $12. Project total: $19.30. Reaction from my kids? Priceless.

That morning, I didn’t say anything about the closet. I just waited until my daughter asked “Hey, where’s the typewriter?” A cryptic reply, a house-wide search, and the closet was soon discovered! They were soooo excited. Especially my 10 year-old son. I’m happy to report THE MYSTERY CLOSET has been in steady use by both kids ever since. The typewriter goes at all hours, which is truly music to this mom’s ears. Success!

Fly Me to the Moon

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fly me to the moonThree, two, one…blast off! We head to the moon using this rocket ship dashboard, which includes a custom steering wheel, fuel gauge, gravity level, destination dial, and flashing light. This was a special story time for the Bernardsville Public Library, who won our Pop LIVE blog contest. Scroll to the bottom of post to see their truly adorable children’s section!

We read The Crimson Comet by Dean Morrissey and Stephen Krensky (HarperCollins, 2006). When the light in the moon goes out, it’s up to Nora and Jack to jump in their home-made rocket and lend a hand. It might look like a toy wagon cobbled together with household items, but the Crimson Comet gets the job done.

You’ll need:

  • 1 corrugated cardboard base (we used a 9.5″ x 13.75″ cake pad)
  • A few brass fasteners
  • A few foam beads
  • Poster board, card stock, tagboard, or construction paper
  • Dashboard decorations (more on this below!)
  • Scissors and tape for construction
  • Markers for decorating

dashboard parts

The corrugated cardboard dashboard is designed to sit comfortably in your lap during space flight. Moving clockwise – the destination dial is a mini aluminum pie pan, and the fuel gauge hand is a snippet of bubble tea straw. Both attach to the dashboard with brass fasteners.The gravity level is a little piece of mesh tubing that slides up and down a silver paper drinking straw.

The flashing light is a silver LED votive with a plastic shot glass over it (who knew they would fit together so perfectly?). We wanted kids to be able to turn the light on and off, so the whole thing slides into a 1.25″ piece of toilet paper tube that can be taped or hot glued to the dashboard.

dashboard lightThe steering wheel is 2 silver circles hot glued together and then attached to the dashboard with a longer, 1.5″ brass fastener (or use a bit of balloon stick). We used 2 foam beads to lift the steering wheel off the board a bit. Here’s a shot from the side:

dashboard steering wheelWe also had markers, silver foil paper, mesh tubing, foil star stickers and geometric stickers on hand for decorating. The geometric stickers are “Funky Geometric Shapes Rolls of Stickers” from Oriental Trading Company (6 rolls of 900 stickers are $10).

1 dashboarddashboard 2dashboard 3Once the decorating was done, we fired up ye olde overheard projector and took a trip to the moon! I drew different scenes on overheard transparency film and interchanged them as we progressed from the landing strip, to the sky, to outer space, to the moon, and back to earth again. Along with way, we dodged birds, weather balloons, comets, and the International Space Station!

trip to the moon This story time was hosted by the public library in Bernardsville, New Jersey. Look at their charming children’s section, which was the gift of Estella and Jay Parsons:

benardsville public library children's sectionIt’s full of beautiful hand-painted trees, botanical touches, and forest animals. Look at the deer standing next to the little wicker chair in the corner!

benardsville public library cornerThis little singing bird is Katie’s favorite:

benardsville public library little birdThe preschool area (a gift of the Bonaventura Devine Foundation) continues the outdoor theme with picnic-style activity tables with cute gingham covers and buttery sunshine-colored walls.

benardsville public library pre-school roomHere’s my favorite touch, however. The “Please Disturb” sign on the reference desk!

benardsville public library please disturb sign

Many thanks to the Benardsville Public Library and their enthusiastic staff for hosting us,  and for treating us to a delicious local lunch! You guys are awesome!