Constellation Creations! Space is always a favorite topic of kids and this project can be used for a variety of different aged learners.

For this activity you will need pipe cleaners, beads, scissors and our Constellation Creation Patterns Handout or a book or pictures of a variety of constellations. Have your learner pick their favorite constellations and build them using the pattern as a guide. They may need more than one pipe cleaner for a constellation. Younger learners may need help twisting the pipe cleaner to hold the bead in place or you could use glue instead.  After they are finished you can string the constellations on fishing line and hang them in the window or from the ceiling.

There are a number of extension activities you can do with this project:

1. Have your learner read and/or research their favorite constellations.
2. Older learners could write about their constellation. Make sure they discuss the different stars contained in the constellation and when they are visible in the night sky. We may not be able to see them from the Northern Hemisphere. Have your older learners find out why.
3. Younger learners could draw their favorite constellation and label the big stars.
4. You can test your learners on their knowledge of constellation formations by taking a black piece of construction paper and poking holes where the stars are supposed to be, turn off the lights and shine a flashlight through the back. Have your learners guess which constellation they are viewing.

Finally, take a field trip with the family:

• Attend the Grand Canyon Park’s Star Party, June 21st-28th, where there constellations tours and telescopes to view the night sky. https://www.grandcanyon.org/experience-grand-canyon/events/grand-canyon-star-party
• Visit an observatory like the Lowell observatory in Flagstaff, Kitt Peak National Observatory southwest of Tucson, or Gilbert Rotary Centennial Observatory.
• Go to a planetarium like the Dorrance Planetarium at the Arizona Science Center in downtown Phoenix, the Flandrau Science Center and Planetarium at the University of Arizona in Tucson, or the Mesa Community College Planetarium.
• Check your parks and recreation calendar for full moon hikes or star gazing events.
• Set up a family camping trip and spend some time out doors at night observing the stars.