6 Space-Inspired Activities for Curious Minds

Space has a way of sparking big questions in children: Why do planets orbit the sun? What makes a rocket fly? Could there really be life on another planet?



The best part is that you don't need a telescope to start investigating. With a little imagination, your child can learn all about space through hands-on CONNETIX play that's packed with creativity, problem solving and fun!



Here are six space-inspired activities that encourage STEAM learning while making every play session feel like a mission to the stars.

Get ready for lift-off! Start by following the guided build instructions to create the Light Rocket, then see where your child’s imagination takes them. Will it become a glowing space station? A colourful bedside lamp? With the rechargeable light tile, one build can inspire countless more.



As children build, they'll discover how light shines through translucent tiles, creating colourful shadows and changing the look of their rocket from every angle.

Try asking:

• Why do rockets need lots of fuel?
• What do astronauts take into space?
• Where do you think your rocket is travelling?

Challenge your child to recreate all eight planets in the Solar System, starting with the Sun before adding Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune in the correct order.



Use different tile shapes and sizes to represent each planet, then see who can remember the sequence without looking.



For even more inspiration, explore science teacher Sarah Shan's original Solar System activity and other science play ideas here. 

What your child is learning:

• Planet names and order
• Comparing size, colour and distance
• Observation and sequencing skills

Use the Ball Run Galaxy Pack to create a swirling, space-inspired ball run and imagine the glowing light balls are comets travelling across the night sky.



Experiment with different heights, twists and turns to see how each change affects their journey. Children naturally explore concepts like gravity, force and motion as they redesign their run again and again.

Try asking:

• What happens if we make the track steeper?
• Why does the comet speed up?
• Which path makes it travel the longest?

If you discovered a brand-new planet, who might live there?



Challenge your child to invent an alien (like the adorable one above by @creative.play.everyday), build a flying saucer or create an entire extraterrestrial world. There are no wrong answers – only bigger imaginations.



This open-ended activity encourages storytelling, creative thinking and communication as children explain who their alien is, where it lives and how it travels through space.



Need more inspiration? Join the CONNETIX Facebook Community to discover thousands of creative builds shared by families around the world.



Imagine a giant meteor is heading towards Earth! Can you design a launcher powerful enough to knock it safely off course?



Using the Ball Run Launcher Pack, children can test different launch angles, heights and pathways as they send wooden balls flying through their creations. Every launch becomes a fun experiment in force, motion and cause and effect.

Try asking:

• Which angle launches the meteor the furthest?
• What happens if we build the launcher higher?
• How could we make it even more accurate?

Sometimes the best challenges start flat. Download our free Space Resource Cards featuring a rocket, star and satellite, then invite your child to recreate each design before transforming it into a 3D model.



This simple extension encourages children to think beyond what they can see, developing spatial reasoning, engineering skills and creative problem solving.

Challenge them to ask:

• How could this stand on its own?
• What extra pieces could I add?
• Can I make it even bigger?