Prepare for Pluto: Telescope Craft for Kids

Prepare for Pluto

There are two really awesome things about this craft. One, it’s a celebration of NASA’s historic journey to Pluto. And two, it’s a craft-remix project. Remember that windsock we made for Memorial Day? Well it’s time to take that sucker apart and work it into a homemade telescope for the kids.
Prepare for Pluto
Materials

  • Memorial Day windsock (Or you could just decorate a toilet paper tube and start from there!)
  • Plastic cup from the recycle bin (Red Solo cups work well. I also think a Starbucks coffee cup would be good for this project. See what’s in your bin that you can rinse and reuse!)
  • Craft knife
  • Glue
  • Decorative tape
  • Scissors
  • Star stickers

Take Your Windsock Apart
Disassembling your windsock is super-easy! Simply remove the crepe paper streamers that are attached at the bottom. Be sure to save those streamers for another craft project. If you didn’t make the windsock and you’re starting from scratch, just get a toilet paper tube and decorate it however you wish with paints and tape. The cardboard tube will be the body of your telescope.

Directions

  1. With a craft knife, cut an “x” into the bottom of your cup. This will create four triangular sections that will make it easier for you to cut a hole in the bottom of the cup. This step is best for the adult and teen crafters!
  2. Push your toilet paper tube into the bottom of the cup. The end that goes into the cup is the one that used to have streamers hanging from it. Push it far enough inside the cup until the streamer-holes are covered and the two pieces feel like they’re secure. Just for safety sake, I put a few dabs of glue where the cup and the tube connect. You can also use tape to secure everything.
  3. To make your tube look a little less patriotic, add more decorative tape. I used yellow and green.
  4. Decorate your “lens” (the cup-part) with star stickers.
  5. Grab your telescope by it’s nifty handle (that’s the side that used to be the windsock hanger) and look to the skies!

This is a great craft for kids who are learning about the planets in school. It’s also a great way for you to get them excited about NASA’s Pluto project!

3 Fun Facts That’ll Help You Prepare for Pluto

  1. Pluto is the only planet in our solar system discovered by an American.
  2. It takes Pluto 248 years to do one orbit around the sun.
  3. NASA’s New Horizons probe traveled 3 billion miles to get a good look at Pluto.
    Prepare for Pluto

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