Cross kinetic art with science in this fun project. Pass out materials for paper mache, using colored paper to represent the different planets. Have students mold their own versions of the planets. Make sure the students pay attention to the relative size of each planet. Pass out clothes hangers and string. Allow the students to hang the planets according to their position in the solar system. Hang the finished kinetic models in the classroom for display.
Allow each student to select a planet to research for this art project. Pass out paper and crayons and have the students make a drawing of their planet, based on images from NASA and their science textbooks. Each student then gets a chance to introduce their planet to the rest of the class, pointing out key features of the planet in their drawings.
Pass out photocopies of famous astronauts and key historical moments in space travel. These can include NASA images of Viking landers on Mars, photos of Neil Armstrong's walk on the moon and the Russian Venera on Venus. Allow students to make photo collages of their favorite "space travel" moments in history. All it takes is a little bit of glue, scissors and paper.
Using NASA projections and images as inspiration, ask your students to brainstorm about what life would be like in space. Have them think about what sort of suits they would have to wear or what a human settlement would look like on another planet or the moon. Bring your students' imaginations to life by passing out colored pencils, crayons and paper, and allow them to draw their own version of what human life in outer space might look like one day in the future.