20+ Space Day Ideas for Kids to Celebrate and Learn

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Looking for Space Day ideas that are super easy to pull off and full of hands-on fun? Whether you’re planning a classroom celebration or a simple afternoon activity at home, these ideas will keep little astronauts busy and happy.

There’s something here for every interest and age, from science activities to art projects. If you’re hunting for more ways to make your space-themed plans shine, check out our space crafts for kids collection—it’s packed with playful inspiration!

Collage of space-themed kids’ activities including rockets, planets, astronauts, and crafts for Space Day using paper, coloring, and sensory materials.

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Space Day Ideas

Table of contents

Get ready to explore the galaxy without leaving your living room, and watch imaginations take off!

Preschool Space Theme Printables

Little astronauts blast off into learning with printables covering letters, counting, patterns, and more—all in a space theme. Each activity page is quick to print and easy to set up, turning basic preschool skills practice into a playful outer-space adventure.

Kids stay engaged because they're tracing stars, matching rocket ships, and exploring planets on paper, which makes learning feel like play.

kidscraftroom.com

Astronaut Puppet

Children start by coloring and cutting out an astronaut from a printable template, then fasten the pieces to make a simple moving puppet. A clever design even lets this astronaut move—kids pull a tab or string to make it "float" across a paper moon.

After designing, children love using their puppets to act out space adventures, letting their imaginations soar with their mini astronaut.

littlebinsforlittlehands.com

Fizzy Paint Moon

Children paint a moon (often a paper plate or circle) with a special baking soda paint, then drop vinegar onto it to make it fizz and bubble like real moon craters. The chemical reaction creates a cool, bubbly texture on their moon artwork, making science and art come together in a fun, hands-on way.

There's pure excitement as they watch the painting fizz and foam, and at the end, they have a crater-covered moon masterpiece to show off.

Printable Space Worksheets

These printable worksheets with bright rockets, planets, and astronauts on each page turn practice time (like letters, numbers, or patterns) into an outer space adventure.

Kids can work on their writing, matching, or counting skills while feeling like they're exploring the galaxy at the same time. Each worksheet encourages curiosity about space, so children stay engaged and motivated as they learn.

conservamome.com

Astronaut Toilet Paper Roll

An empty toilet paper roll becomes a mini astronaut with some help from a free printable template that wraps around it. Kids can color the astronaut suit themselves or use a pre-colored version, then glue on fun details like a helmet, arms, and an oxygen tank.

They end up with an adorable cardboard astronaut figurine made from recycled materials, perfect for pretend play or as a proud decoration.

fun-a-day.com

Preschool Space Sensory Bin

A large bin holds materials that look and feel like outer space, such as black beans or rice for the night sky, shiny star confetti, and mini planet toys sprinkled throughout.

Kids can run their hands through this pretend galaxy, scooping up "moon rocks" and finding little astronauts or rockets hidden among the stars. It's a fantastic open-ended activity that sparks imaginative play and sensory exploration, as preschoolers create their mini space adventures in the bin.

Space Color By Number

Each page features a hidden space picture (like a rocket or planet) that appears as kids color by matching numbers to a simple key. The activity helps with numbers, recognition, and following directions, but it feels like a fun coloring adventure for children.

Little ones love watching a colorful astronaut or rocket ship emerge with every crayon stroke, turning number practice into a game.

www.hellowonderful.co

DIY Cardboard Rocket

A bunch of recycled cardboard transforms into a kid-sized rocket ship, with fun details like drawn-on control panels and a pretend fuel cap. Parents can help cut out and assemble the big rocket shape, then kids can jump in by painting it bright colors and decorating it with stickers, stars, or their artwork.

The finished cardboard rocket is a little astronaut's dream—children can step inside or play around it, imagining they're blasting off to the moon right from the living room.

Also try: Cut And Paste Rocket Craft

www.glitteronadime.com

Simple Space Themed Paper Plate

Kids color a paper plate with deep space colors (blues, purples, black) to create a night sky background. Then they decorate their "sky" by sticking on an assortment of foam space stickers—planets, rockets, stars, and moons—wherever they like.

Super simple and virtually mess-free, this activity still allows little ones to create their space scene to display proudly.

Rocket Ship Name

Kids create a personalized rocket by assembling paper pieces that each show a letter of their name, stacked from top to bottom. They practice spelling their name and arranging letters in order while decorating a colorful spaceship, making it feel like a fun art project instead of a lesson.

Little ones especially love seeing their name turned into a rocket ship ready for blast-off, which makes this activity feel extra memorable and exciting.

iheartcraftythings.com

Marbled Planets Art

Children swirl paint in a tray of shaving cream and then press paper circles on top, transferring beautiful marbled patterns onto each "planet." When they lift the paper, they're delighted to see every circle looks like a miniature planet with unique swirls of color, just like the real ones.

Ultimately, the marbled planets get glued onto a black background with glittery stars, creating a stunning space scene that's part art project, part science experiment.

Also try: Space Coloring Pages

www.thechaosandtheclutter.com

Space Sensory Bottle

A clear plastic bottle is filled with water (and a bit of clear glue or oil) along with glitter and star confetti to create a swirling mini galaxy. When kids shake it up, the sparkly "stars" float and drift slowly around, looking like a tiny universe in their hands.

The gentle weight and slow-moving sparkles make it mesmerizing to watch—kids love seeing the glitter settle like falling stars, and it can even help them relax.

Paper Rocket Puppet

A simple brown paper bag becomes a flying rocket ship puppet with the help of a free printable template. Kids cut out and color the rocket parts (the body, flames, and even a little astronaut in the window) and glue them onto the bag, creating a puppet they can hold and "fly" around.

After they assemble it, children launch their rocket puppet around the room, sparking lots of imaginative play long after they finish the project.

www.artsyfartsymama.com

Free Printable Astronaut Coloring Pages

A set of six free coloring pages featuring astronauts and space scenes is ready to download and print for instant fun. Each page offers a different outer space adventure—astronauts floating in zero gravity, rockets blasting off, planets to explore—so kids can pick their favorite and start coloring.

These printables make an easy go-to activity for rainy days or space-themed parties, and kids of all ages love bringing the outer space illustrations to life with their creative colors.

Related: Space Pattern Block Mats

www.fantasticfunandlearning.com

Outer Space Play-Dough Invitation

Black play-dough becomes the backdrop for a space adventure when paired with star sequins, mini planet toys, and other sparkly add-ins for kids to explore. Kids can roll, squash, and mold the dough into a night sky or planet surface and then press in the shiny stars and planets however they like, creating their space scenes or alien worlds.

Such open-ended play is fantastic for sensory exploration and imagination—preschoolers will happily spend time creating space adventures as they squish and shape their cosmic scene.

Also try: Space Do A Dot

Rocket Made With Shapes

Using a mix of basic cut-out shapes—a rectangle for the rocket's body, a triangle for the nose, and a few circles for windows—children build a rocket ship on paper. As they glue each shape to form the rocket, they practice shape recognition and spatial skills without realizing it.

The project is as educational as it is fun, and kids feel proud showing off a rocket they built out of simple shapes.

lifeovercs.com

Solar System Printable

A free printable set includes colorful cut-outs of all the planets, plus fun extras like an astronaut, a rocket ship, a friendly alien, and shooting stars. Kids can use these pieces in various ways: swirl them around in a "galaxy," press them into play dough as pretend planets, or arrange their solar system on the floor.

Using these cutouts makes learning about the solar system a hands-on game, as children move the bright planets and astronauts around to create imaginative space adventures.

www.whimsicalmumblings.co.uk

Watercolor Planet Banner

Kids create their own set of paper planets by coloring with watercolor pencils (or paints) and blending the colors beautifully with a brush. Each planet is glued onto a little black paper flag sprinkled with silver glitter so it looks like the sparkly night sky.

When all the painted planets are attached to a string, the result is a beautiful banner to hang up—a fun art project that doubles as a solar system decoration.

fun-a-day.com

Coffee Filter Planets

Kids draw on round coffee filters with markers and then spritz them with water, which makes the colors bleed and blend in a swirly pattern. Once they dry, each coffee filter becomes a vibrant, tie-dye-style planet with unique colors and designs that might resemble Jupiter's stripes or a funky alien world.

The process is an easy mix of art and science that children find magical, and the finished "planets" look great displayed as suncatchers or in a space collage.

Also try: Space Tracing Worksheets

www.giftofcuriosity.com

Planets Do-a-Dot Printables

A free printable pack features 19 pages of do-a-dot worksheets about the planets of our solar system. Each page has an outline of a planet (or other space item) filled with blank circles, and kids use bingo daubers or dot markers to stamp a color in each circle.

Toddlers and preschoolers have a blast dotting away to create colorful planets, practicing fine motor skills, and playfully learning the planet names.

booksandgiggles.com

Spinning Paper Solar System

In this interactive art, kids make a simple paper model of the solar system that moves to show how planets orbit the sun. They cut out paper planets and a sun, then attach them with a brad or similar fastener so the planets can spin around the sun, like a mini orbit demonstration.

Not only do children get a fun, hands-on lesson about how Earth and its neighbors revolve, but they also enjoy coloring and personalizing their solar system before setting it into motion.

buggyandbuddy.com

Paper Plate Sun

To make this happy sun, kids start by painting a paper plate bright yellow (or using a yellow paper plate) for the sun's face. For the rays, kids can glue strips of yellow and orange paper around the plate or even weave yarn through holes along the edge, which sneaks in some fine motor practice.

The result is encouraging sun art that's not only easy to make but also gives kids a chance to practice scissors skills and pattern-making, and it makes a sunny decoration to hang up.

playtolearnpreschool.us

Astronaut School Dramatic Play

This dramatic play setup turns a play area into an "Astronaut School" where kids pretend to train like real astronauts. With some creative props—like DIY jet packs, a cardboard mission control complete with buttons and switches, and maybe an obstacle course to practice moon-walking—children get to role-play as astronaut trainees.

They will run through pretend "missions" and space exercises, which are a blast but encourage teamwork, active movement, and imaginative play.

littlebinsforlittlehands.com

Space Shuttle Project

A fun STEM challenge invites kids to design and build a model space shuttle using a recycled water bottle and random art supplies you already have around. They might use cardboard for wings, the plastic bottle as the shuttle body, and tape or glue to hold it all together, effectively acting as little engineers figuring out how to make their shuttle look ready for launch.

The project's open-ended nature gets kids thinking like engineers—they feel proud showing off a space shuttle they invented themselves, and along the way, they learn about design and trial-and-error.

www.messylittlemonster.com

Outer Space Planet Activity

Using a free template, kids can cut out each planet of the solar system (plus the sun) from paper or cardstock. They color and decorate each one, then attach the planets to sticks or sturdy paper strips to turn them into a set of cute space-themed bookmarks.

Not only do they get to be creative, but they also end up with a complete collection of planet bookmarks for their books so that every reading time can turn into a mini space adventure.

www.andnextcomesl.com

Yarn Wrapped Planets

It starts with cutting out cardboard circles for each planet and snipping small notches around the edges. Kids then take brightly colored yarn and wrap it around each cardboard circle, catching the yarn in those notches to completely cover the planet shape.

This activity is excellent fine motor practice, and the results are fantastic. Each yarn-wrapped planet is uniquely textured and colorful, and they look great hung up as a space decoration (or even as part of a mobile).

More Fun Kid’s Ideas

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Fun Space Activities

Sam

Sam is the crafter and founder of Simple Everyday Mom. She has been featured in Oprah Mag, Good Housekeeping, The Spruce Crafts, Country Living, The Bump and more. Read more.

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