Written by A few years ago, I helped a local school create a space science day. We had a whole afternoon of Tim Peake and International Space Station themed activities. The idea was to take the children on a journey starting with whole class film canister rockets, followed by a docking with the ISS game, and then an orbiting demonstration. After that, the children had free choice of several interactive space-themed experiments, investigations and challenges, such as squeezy rockets, making craters and robotic arms. The afternoon worked well and would be great for World Space Week or British Science Week.
You can also download our challenge cards for use on activity tables. Each one states the aim of the challenge with extension ideas to keep everyone busy.
More space experiments for World Space Week
Launch a rocket
Try one of my five easy rocket ideas. We’ve got bottle rockets, baking soda rockets, straw rockets, film canister rockets and more!
Fix the astronaut’s glove
Can you fix a broken astronauts glove? This is a great STEM challenge for younger children, which encourages them to think about why the glove needs to be airtight, think of a way to fix it and also test their solution.
Try some space engineering
Engineer an arm for the Space Station using pneumatics and K’nex.
Space sensory tub
This space sensory tub is great for younger children. It can also be filled with magnetic and non-magnetic “space junk” for sorting.
Model the Earth’s layers
Make a play dough model of the Earth to show the different internal layers. This activity looks amazing, especially when you carve into the play dough model to reveal the layers.
I’ve got even more space science ideas in my DIY Space Camp post, so be sure to check that out as well.
You can also find ALL my space science investigations and ideas in my space experiments round-up post.
If you still need more ideas, my science investigations linked to gravity are all fun follow up activities too.
This IS Rocket Science
Don’t forget I also have a space science book called This IS Rocket Science, containing 70 space-themed activity ideas for kids of all ages. Available from AMAZON NOW!!
Do you have any more ideas for World Space Week that we could explore?
Last Updated on October 6, 2025 by Emma Vanstone
The post Activity Ideas for World Space Week appeared first on Science Experiments for Kids.
Science Experiments for Kids Read More