Make a Galaxy Mobile

What You Need:

• Cardboard, 1 sheet 11” x 17”
• Black construction paper
• Tempera paint
• Paintbrushes
• Glitter
• Paper tape
• Glue stick
• String
• Pencil
• Scissors

What You Do:

1. Instruct your child to cut a circle disc from the cardboard that all of the galaxies will hang from. Then help him puncture three small holes in the shape of a triangle on the edges of the disc. Set it aside.
2. Have your kid draw images of galaxies onto the black construction paper. They should be at least the size of the palm of your hand. Cut them out with scissors.
3. Tape a piece of string on to the back of the galaxies. The strings can all be different lengths.
4. Paint all of the galaxy shapes with different colors of tempera paint on both sides and allow them to dry. Make sure to paint over the tape.
5. Encourage your kid to rub glue onto the painted galaxies with a glue stick, then sprinkle glitter on top of the paint. Let dry.
6. Have him attach each string to the top of the disc using tape. Make sure each string is a different length and they are evenly spaced apart from one another.
7. Encourage your kid to paint black over the tape and on both sides of the disc. Allow to dry.
8. Cut three 10-inch long pieces of string. Have your child tie a knot on one side of each string, and then thread each string through the holes in the disc. Tie them together in a knot at the length you want to hang your galaxy mobile.

Helpful Tip:

You can find images of galaxies on Wikipedia at this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hubble_sequence_photo.png