Space Theme Inspiration

It’s been a few months of amazing space events:

MARSONE, an initiative to place humans on Mars in 2023, attracts over 80,000 video applicants. It’s a one way trip for 4 people initially, to live their life on the surface of Mars. A further 2 people will be sent up every 2 years after that. The first few years are spent building living space and growing food before they head out to be the first humans exploring the planet. There might be an option for one of them to return in the future, the costs are too high to consider anymore people returning. As the only planet we know of so far that humans could potentially survive on, this is a very important mission! www.marsone.com.

Chris Hadfield, Canadian Astronaut who has just returned from over 5 months on the International Space station, uses twitter in space to showcase fantastic photo’s from the space station and films the first video in space, a cover of himself singing Space Oddity by David Bowie. www.youtube.com/channel/UCtGG8ucQgEJPeUPhJZ4M4jA

 

Major Tim Peake has been chosen as the first official British Astronaut EVER: he will train for the next 2 and a half years before heading up to the International Space station in 2015. He says ‘a large part of this is to inspire a generation’, so how can we all start doing this?

To narrow it down, we have focused on Mars so here are some ideas.

Mars Facts:

• Mars is nicknamed the red planet because it is covered with rust-like dust. Even the atmosphere is a pinkish red, colored by tiny particles of dust thrown up from the surface.

• Mars experiences violent dust storms which continually change its surface.

• Mars has many massive volcanoes and is home to Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in our solar system, it stands 21km high and is 600km across the base.

• Mars has a very thin atmosphere made mostly of carbon dioxide. It is not thick enough to trap the sun's heat like Venus, so the planet is very cold.

• Mars has many channels, plains and canyons on the surface which could have been caused by water erosion in the past.

• Mars has very weak gravity which is one third of that on Earth, but this is still much better for humans than the moon whose gravity is one sixth of Earths. If a human lives with Mars low gravity for a long time, it is not known if they would be able to survive back on Earth.
• Mars has frozen water underneath it’s surface, this means humans could use these to survive.
• A day on Mars lasts about the same as Earth, on the moon a day lasts 27 times as long so one day on the moon is nearly a month on earth. This is important as humans will be healthier on Mars keeping the same day rhythm as on Earth.

Ideas for your setting:

Make your own video entry to join the mission to Mars.  Watch some of the video entries on http://applicants.mars-one.com/ for ideas. MarsOne suggests ‘Why would you like to go to Mars? How would you describe your sense of humour? What makes you the perfect candidate for this mission to Mars’. Or if you don’t want to go, why not? BAND members can borrow our video camera to film entries.

Astronaut training camp for a day. The MarsOne website has lots of interesting information: The mission roadmap outlines how they will progress to humans going to Mars year on year, Humankind on Mars talks about the astronauts 8 years of training. Astronauts need to be physically and mentally fit, what challenges can you create to test this?

Design your own mission patch to go on the astronaut’s suit – what would you call the mission or put on the patch?

Make up your own space song. Watch Chris Hadfield singing in space to get ideas.

Eat some space food. Follow Chris Hadfield as he makes a peanut butter and honey sandwich in space and do the same in your setting, you need to use tortillas instead of bread as in space the bread crumbs float around too much. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vio09T-8qA

Mix sand in with paint to create a textured martian landscape picture that you can add your own cut out martians to.

Have a look around the NASA Mars kids site, there is Mars Rover colouring sheet to download and some games. There are some other interesting bits if you dig around a little. http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/participate/funzone/

The International Space Station also has a kids site with regular competitions: http://www.esa.int/esaKIDSen/lab.html

Make your own space button model to check out how far away you would be…..

 

 

 

Get Hunting!

Looking for some active, outdoor fun?  Then why not plan a scavenger hunt. 

This is a great way to really explore any outdoor (or even indoor) environment.  You can do it anywhere and don’t need much in the way of resources – just a list of things to find and a pen to tick them when found. For example this worksheet from www.howtonestforless.com:

If you can, you could also give the children a paper bag or container to put the things they find in, remembering that flowers and living creatures should be left where they are found.

When making up a scavenger hunt, keeping the kids’ interest should be high priority. Most of the objects shouldn’t be too difficult or frustrating to find but not too easy either.  For children who can’t yet read, you could draw pictures of the objects they need to find.  Here are some ideas to get you started;

Can you find me: oak leaf, pine cone, bark, piece of litter, stick, 3 leaf clover, feather, berry, green grass, daisy, dandelion, holly leaf.

Shapes:  find something square, round, triangular, rectangular, star shaped …….

Colours:  find something red, brown, green, yellow, blue …….

Alphabet hunt: find items with names that begin with each letter of the alphabet.

Items don’t always have to be things to find, you could also have things to experience and do as well and you could include a list of things to touch, smell or listen to.  For example: touch something soft, rough, smooth; jump in a puddle; climb a tree; listen to birdsong, run up a slope, smell a flower…..

For more ideas of what to hunt for, go to http://www.lovetheoutdoors.com/camping/kids/scavengerhunt.htm

Happy hunting!  

Theme Time

Ok, it’s the summer. This means it’s up to you all to think of fab, funny and physical ideas for the summer playschemes. It’s great to have a range of starting points for play and using a theme can inspire both staff and children to have great ideas. At BAND we have had a quick think around and some of our ideas are here!

-        Gromit Unleashed. The Gromit trail will be up and running, go and spot as many Gromits as you can when you are out and about, you can pick up a Gromit passport at six places in Bristol. http://www.gromitunleashed.org.uk/trail/. You could make your own plasticine models, make animation, create film sets in boxes, dress up as your favourite Aardman characters, dress up as different breeds of dog, visit a dogs home, go to a Dog Show (RSPCA is having a dog show at Weston Beach Lawns on 18^th August), or learn how to speak dog, or invite someone from guide dogs for the blind to come into your group.

 

© and TM Aardman/W&G Ltd. 2013.

® Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Appeal. Charity No. 1043603

Photographer: Oliver Edwards

 

-        Pharaoh King of Egypt. The exhibition will have closed just before the summer, but it could be a fun theme. Dressing up as mummy’s, building pyramid dens, writing or drawing in hieroglyphics, making paper, making masks and jewellery, sun dials, make hummus and pita bread, dress up as ancient Egyptians, make mud bricks. Could be a bit spooky and link to the libraries Creepy House reading challenge. http://summerreadingchallenge.org.uk/

-        Water Week. Always a summer favourite, it can go in different directions, pirates, under the sea, beaches, submarines, experiments with water. Build boats or submarines, build sandcastles or other sand sculptures, make palm trees (visit the professional sand sculptures at Weston), dress up as mermaids, pirates or fish. Get the paddling pool out, blow bubbles. If you are brave, find out what is on at the Harbour festival for a visit on Friday 26^th July. Incorporate a water melon day and use watermelons for boats or a variety of other ideas e.g.: bowling with watermelons and painting!! http://www.growingajeweledrose.com/2013/06/summer-fun-wacky-watermelon-day.html

-        “I have a dream”. It’s the 50^th anniversary of the Martin Luther King speech and you could find out what your children and young people dream of for the future. Create model visions or inventions, explore who they are, paint self-portraits or take photographs,   (you could combine with a visit to the Photographic Portrait Exhibition at the Mshed), make wishing trees, do dream stories based on consequences game. Think about rights, what do they feel strongly about and want to change or peacefully campaign about?

 

 

 

-        Flight. Have fun with all things flying, make lots of stuff, experiment with different shape and materials. Kites, balloons, planes, seeds, leaves. Bird watch, hunt different types of flying insects.  Dress up as flying creatures, think about the different qualities they have, owls vision at night, bees memory of going places, there are more insect ideas inside. Build a box airplane den and have adventures. Visit the balloon fiesta, a bird sanctuary or go to an airshow.

 

-        Space. Is there life on Mars? Imagine the playscheme is going into space and you are all astronauts. Build your space craft, do astronaut training, learn how to space- walk, dress up,  make your Mars planet, take samples of earth to analyse, make contact with aliens, make a box of gifts to explain earth culture. Dress up as aliens or make some.

-        Spies and secrets. The Imperial War Museum in London has a new “Horrible Histories exhibition Spies”.  Have a week of  espionage, including codes and ciphers, disguises, camouflage, forgeries and gadgets.

 

-        Nature 99 places Bristol. Did you know there are 99 areas of Bristol that are good for Nature? Have a look at a Bristol map to find one near to you: http://maps.bristol.gov.uk/pinpoint/?service=localinfo&maptype=js&layer=Neighbouring+authorities;Sites+of+Nature+Conservation+Interest

The summer is a great time to have a nature based theme and getting out and about is fun for all. Bug hunts, wildflower surveys, woodland walks (with den building), footprint tracking and pond dipping are always popular. Check out  Bristol events at: http://bristol99.org.uk and ideas at http://www.naturedetectives.org.uk

 

-        Topsy Turvey week. Pretend it’s winter, wear woolly scarfs, have hot chocolate. Wear your clothes back to front, jumble up your language, eat pudding before savoury, walk backwards, make upside down cake, look at the world upside down, use lens or colour films to make glasses. What ways can you make your playscheme topsy turvey?

If you come up with a really good theme, do let us know and we will put it on our ideas website, post it on Facebook and Tweet it too!