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star gazin ideas for kids
Photo Credit: National Geographic

Stargazing with your kids is a fantastic spring activity. Sitting in the dark admiring the constellations can be a great experience to bond with your children and teach them a little about something bigger than themselves.

Teaching your children about astronomy isn’t just about stargazing. You can teach your children about nature, classical literature, mythology and so much more. Plus, it’s just fun!

 

Let your Child’s Curiosity Soar High as the Sky

Small children think stars are really awesome, even before they get to see the real thing firsthand. My daughter is an early-to-bedder and she was well into toddlerhood before she saw stars at night while she was awake. But that doesn’t mean your kids can’t start to enjoy the heavenly bodies. Small children love star lamps or sticky stars on their bedroom ceilings.

sky star gazing
Photo Credit: Aliexpress

Once your kids are old enough to enjoy staying up late enough to see the stars at night, you can do tons of cool activities to help them enjoy the evening better.

Set up a wading pool in the backyard with some blankets and pillows to enjoy the moon and stars, as found on Family Days Tried and Tested.

stargazing ideas sit in pool

 

Once you’ve got kids interested in looking at the stars, you can teach them how to identify the various constellations. Start with a constellation guide.

Here’s a link to a simple printable constellation guide for kids with some of the main constellations from Lulu the Baker.

Get some more cool printables over at Mr. Printables.

printable constellation map for kids
Photo Credit: Luluthebaker.com

Once you’ve got your maps and information, it’s time to get the kids excited about the stars. Kids needs hands on activities to feel more connected to the outer world. These fun crafts will make this feel more hands on for the kiddos.

Teach kids about stars, as well as adding to their hand eye coordination with this craft. Constellations Printables by Kids Activities Blog:

looking at stars ideas for kids

Make a cool cardboard constellation viewer:

tube star gazing

tube-compilation

Hole punch these constellations to teach kids the proper designs they are looking for:

holdpunch

Create marshmallow constellations. Mmmmm, these would go well with the wading pool idea, add in a fire and you can turn your constellations into a yummy treat!

constellation stars kids

Create a star looking box:

star box design
Source: The Wonder Years

Keep a stargazing diary:

stargazing diary
Source: Lie Back Look Up

Make constellation sidewalk art:

constellations with rocks and sidewalk chalk
Source: Creekside Learning

Of course, no stargazing activity would be complete if we didn’t throw in a bit about the moon. Make sure your kiddos know the various moon phases to go with their constellation knowledge.

phases of the moon to know

Watch for shooting stars:

shooting star watching kids

Make sure you have a good playlist for your stargazing activities. Here are a few suggestions from around the interwebs:

1. Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star (I mean, really, doesn’t this have to top the list?)

2. Star, by Earth Wind and fire

3. What is a Shooting Star, by They Might Be Giants

4. Bright Morning Stars, by the Wailin’ Jennys

5. Wish Upon a Star

Next up, get some star gazing apps!

Recommended apps:

  • Star Chart
  • Nasa
  • Night Sky Lite
  • Sky View Free
  • Sky Map
  • Star and Planet Finder

And finally, don’t forget to teach your kids how to wish on a star.

wish upon a star song

2 responses to “15 Cool Stargazing Activities for Kids

Posted by Kids Songs

It’s very nice and useful! Kids will surely love it. Thanks for sharing. keep sharing!

Posted on December 11, 2017 at 10:55 pm

Posted by kelsey

Thanks for the great ideas for our summer fun at home!

Posted on June 3, 2018 at 1:16 pm

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