Favorites for Families
Are you spending time at home or visiting friends or other family members? Try these indoor activities together.
Col. Pamela Melroy gave this scrunchie to the Museum after she had used it as a Space Shuttle pilot astronaut on missions to the International Space Station in 2000 and 2002. A scrunchie - like clips, barettes, or rubber bands - keeps hair tidy and under control. According to NASA policy, while they are in space astronauts should confine long hair in a ponytail, braids, or other manner to keep it from floating free and becoming tangled in equipment or posing a nuisance. This guideline has affected only the women astronauts, as no male astronauts have had long hair. The scrunchie is thus an emblem of small but noticeable changes that occurred when women entered the workplace in space.
Pamela Melroy donated this hair accessory to the Museum in 2004.
Objects Tell Stories (ages 5+)
Museums collect objects that tell stories about people in history. Interview someone you know (a friend or family member) about an object in their home that is meaningful to them!
Make Astronaut Mac & Cheese (ages 3+, adult participation required)
Scientists carefully research and prepare food for space missions so astronauts can eat food that is safe, nutritious, long-lasting, and tasty!
To learn more about preparing food for astronauts, watch this STEM in 30 video.
Gather your little ones for story time with the National Air and Space Museum. Museum educator Ann Caspari will read the original story "Which Way Is the Wind Blowing?" The three friends help a neighbor whose hat blows away and find out about weather vanes and wind direction. They make windsocks and spinning garden decorations. After the story we make our own windsocks and wind spinners.
Flights of Fancy Storytime is made possible through the generous support of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.
Flights of Fancy Story Time: "Which Way is the Wind Blowing" (ages 3-6)
Museum educator Ann Caspari reads aloud the original story "Which Way is the Wind Blowing?" After the story, follow along during Craft Time to make windsocks and wind spinners with construction paper, scissors, tape, a straw, a skewer, and a plastic bag.
Are you going to the park, the beach, or camping? Try these activities outdoors.
UFO Sights and Sounds (ages 4+)
When it comes to what UFOs may sound like, science fiction film and television composers usually use unconventional sounds that do not fit with what the human ear is used to hearing.
Make your own UFO shaker and experiment with sounds by collecting small objects outdoors to use in your shaker, like small rocks, shells, or acorns.
Land a Paper Plane on an Aircraft Carrier (ages 5+)
Can you get a paper airplane to land on an aircraft carrier?
Go to the activity then try different paper plane designs.
When you're ready, head outside and decide what will be your aircraft carrier - it could be a large flat rock, tree stump, or you could mark out an area on the ground with sticks or rocks.
Soar Together's Exoplanet Dance activity
Exoplanet Dance (ages 5+)
Create your own dance inspired by exoplanets that spin and orbit around their stars.
Try this in your backyard at night with a lantern or while camping with a lamp or campfire!
Make sure to stay a safe distance from the campfire and move rocks or sticks you might step on.
Are you at a library, community center, cafe, or anywhere with internet access? Try these activities:
Identify a UFO (ages 7+)
Have you ever wondered how UFO's are identified?
Learn the steps to analyze a possible UFO sighting and investigate a real UFO report.
Explore Your World From Above (ages 6+)
Learn how to interpret satellite images through this guided activity using Google Earth activity.
Explore your home neighborhood, where a friend or another family member lives, the area around your school, or where your family is taking a trip to!
A U.S. Navy Blue Angel F/A-18C Hornet, piloted by Cmdr. Frank Weisser, arrives at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA, November 18, 2020. Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum is accessioning this aircraft into the collection. It was retired by the Navy at the end of the 2020 season as the demonstration team moves to the larger Super Hornet. This specific airplane flew with eight squadrons (including Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 86 during Operation Desert Storm, the First Gulf War, in 1991) before being turned over to the Blue Angels in 2015.
It's A Sprint (ages 8+)
Learn about different kinds of planes and then place them in order from fastest to slowest. Then click the button that matches your guess to see if you are correct!
Summer plans have you on the go? These fun and engaging activities can be done from just about anywhere.
An illustration of a imaginary world. Courtesy of Seahorse Vector/Shutterstock
Looking Closely at Imaginary Worlds (ages 8+)
This activity explores science fiction vs. fantasy and the imaginary worlds that both create. Have conversations with your family about your favorite imaginary worlds, and then follow the steps to think up your own imaginary world.
Image credit: Unsplash
Make Your Own Observation Journal (ages 8+)
Practice making observations using the tools you carry around with you every day - your 5 senses!
In this activity, create an observation journal using some of the same techniques NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) does to Watch - Gather - Inform about the weather.
Supplies like these can be useful for observing the nights' sky.
Astronomy Anywhere (ages 5+)
Observing the sky is a wonderful way to connect with nature and see amazing things! No matter where you are, this activity will have you prepared to look up and explore.
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