Take your curiosity outside.

Choose one activity. About 5–15 minutes is enough to notice something interesting. A grown-up should supervise and choose a safe place and materials.

Back to Pip’s question lab →

☾ Moon spotters

Question: Does the Moon look the same every evening?

With a grown-up, find a safe place to look at the Moon with your eyes.
Draw its shape on paper. Add the date and approximate time.
Try again on another evening. Compare the shapes and positions.

Discuss: Sunlight always illuminates half the Moon; from Earth we see changing amounts of its lit side.

Safety: Never look at the Sun through binoculars or a telescope. Stay with a grown-up, away from roads, and do not go out if conditions are unsafe.

🚀 Paper rocket designer

Question: Does changing the fins change how a paper rocket glides?

Use scrap paper to fold a small rocket-shaped glider. An adult handles scissors if needed.
Gently release it into a clear space, away from faces and animals.
Change one fold or fin. Release it the same way and compare.

Discuss: Air and shape affect this glider. It is not a working rocket engine; real rockets accelerate by expelling exhaust.

Safety: No flames, chemicals, pressure vessels, sharp tips, or powered launchers.

☀ Shadow investigators

Question: Will this shadow move?

Ask a grown-up to place a short, stable object on a safe flat surface.
Mark the end of its shadow with chalk or paper.
Return later. Compare its direction and length.

Discuss: Earth turns, so the Sun’s apparent position changes. Shadows change with it.

Safety: Never look directly at the Sun. Use sun protection and stay away from roads, hot surfaces and unstable objects.

🪐 Planet card explorer

Question: Which descriptions belong to which worlds?

Print or read the cards below together.
Sort them into star, rocky planet, giant planet, and moon.
Ask: Which is our home? Which has rings? What else has rings?

Discuss: All four giant planets have rings. The Sun is a star; the Moon is Earth’s natural satellite.

Safety: Adult help with cutting; small paper pieces are unsuitable for very young children.

Your pocket planet cards

Read together, then describe a world without saying its name. Illustrations and card sizes are not to scale.

☀ Sun · star

Our nearest star supplies Earth with light and energy. Never look directly at it.

🌍 Earth · rocky planet

Our home has liquid-water oceans and the only life we have confirmed so far.

🔴 Mars · rocky planet

Rovers study rocks for clues about ancient environments. Water clues do not prove past life.

🪐 Saturn · giant planet

Its bright rings contain many icy pieces. Saturn has no solid surface to stand on.

☾ Moon · natural satellite

Earth’s Moon reflects sunlight and takes about a month to cycle through its phases.

◎ Neptune · ice giant

The farthest of the eight planets has a deep atmosphere and a faint ring system.

Sources: NASA Solar System · Moon phases. Original Pip’s Starhaven activity copy; science and child-usability review pending.

Privacy · Sources & licences