- Moon Walk Game - Cut out large, crater-shaped circles from brown paper bags, and number them sequentially. Lay out an obstacle course with these shapes, so that they are fairly close together, but not touching, making sure sequential numbers are contiguous. The object of the game is to have the children take turns moonwalking (jumping) over the craters in numerical order without touching them. Explain the concept of gravity, and how astronauts were able to walk on the moon.
- Rocket Relay Races - Divide the children into teams and supply each team with a flashlight. Create or purchase a cutout of a quarter moon, and cover with reflective tape. Each team is a rocket and each astronaut on the rocket must race to the moon with the flashlight and back, handing the flashlight to the next astronaut on the rocket. The first team to send all their astronauts to the moon wins.
- Space Song Sing Along - Begin to wind things down with a space song sing along. Before the party, practice the songs you plan to use from this collection, to match the lyrics correctly to the tunes. If the children are older, challenge them to create their own lyrics to some of these tunes. This can also be done as a team competition.
- Stargazing - When the sky has sufficiently darkened, begin stargazing. Start with the moon for younger children. Progress to discussing the solar system and the planets, and try to locate as many planets as possible according to your local star map. With older children, try to identify constellations.
- Constellations - Conclude the evening with a discussion of some of the more understandable constellations to children, whether or not you find them. You can talk about how sailors over the years have used the stars and constellations to guide them. And you can tell stories about the myths behind some of the constellations.
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