Junk modelling – create your own rocketship

What you’ll need

• Toilet paper rolls or kitchen towel tubes (for the rocket body)
• Cardboard boxes in differing sizes (for spaceship parts)
• Bottle caps (for buttons or rocket boosters)
• Plastic bottles (for fuel tanks)
• Foil (for shiny details)
• Coloured paper or paint (for decoration)
• Glue, tape and scissors
• String or wool
• Coloured pipe cleaners
• Paper plates (for the base of the rocket)

Benefits

Using recyclable materials, children are encouraged to use their creativity to make rocketships. It is a great way to learn more about space exploration through imaginative play.

The experience

• Designing the rocketship

Start by asking your child to think about what their dream rocket would look like – is it tall or short? Does it have rocket boosters? What colour would it be?

• Assembling the body

Use the toilet roll or kitchen towel tube as the base of the rocketship. Attach bottle caps or small boxes onto the sides to represent fuel tanks, boosters and control panels.

• Creating the nose cone

Using scissors, supervise your child to cut a small circle from cardboard or paper. Cut a slit to the centre, and fold it into a cone shape. Attach the cone to the top of the rocket body using a glue stick.

• Adding the details

Use aluminium foil to wrap parts of the rocket to give it a metallic, space-age look. Stick coloured paper or paint to different sections of the rocket.

• Flames & antennas

You can attach strings or wool at the bottom of the rocket to represent fiery rocket flames. Use string or pipe cleaners to make antennas, and glue them to the top of the rocket.

• Decorating the rocket

Encourage your child to use coloured pens, stickers or paint to add extra details to their rocketship. You can add windows, doors, and even mission numbers!

• Blast off!

Once the rocketship/s are assembled, line them up and have a countdown for blast off! Encourage your child to count down from 10 or 5, and they can pretend to launch their rocket to the moon, Mars, or even a distant galaxy!