Image: By Gregory H. Revera (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

 

Have you and your family been moongazing the last few nights to see the “Supermoon?” Last night the moon was at its closest point to Earth since 1948 and it appeared 15% bigger and 30% brighter than usual.

We went outside to check it out. This time we didn’t lie on the golf course wondering about the timing of the sprinklers, but we did stand in the driveway to get a good look at the moon as it rose over the mountain. I felt I could see detailed lunar features without binoculars or a telescope (and I can’t even see what is right in front of me without glasses anymore!) but I think the incredible brightness was what struck us the most.

If your kids are moon-crazy now, here are a few moon-related resources and educational ideas that might be just the ticket to feed their interest:

 

Educational Experiments and Activities

• Oreo Moon Phase Match Game (with free printable template) from Simply Learning: A fun matching activity to learn about the phases of the moon, plus kids can eat their work when they are done. What could be better?

• Moon Phases Experiment from We-Made-That: A styrofoam ball and a flashlight helps kids (and adults) understand what really causes the phases of the moon.

• How the Moon Causes Tides: The best explanation I have found for why we have tides, from Ducksters.

• Free Printable Moon Journal: Record detailed nightly moon observations courtesy of Buggy and Buddy.

• How the Moon’s Craters Form: An easy activity involving flour and a weighted plastic Easter egg teaches how the moon’s craters are formed. For older kids, the activity also involves experimenting with the different factors that determine the size of lunar craters, and recording the data. There is even a free printable data collection worksheet.

• Full Moon Atlas: You must also check out this extremely detailed interactive map of the moon’s surface from the Luna Society.

• What Time is it on the Moon?: Head over to LunarClock.org to find out what Lunar Standard Time is and convert any time and date into LST! That’s where the cool clock at the top of my post came from.

 

Books

(By the way, Kitten’s First Full Moon is one of my very favorite picture books EVER!)