Invitation to Go Moon Scaping & Search for Lunar Crystals

Here are two more invitations inspired by exhibits at the Chabot Space & Science Museum. 

1. Moon Scaping: Inside the museum they had a huge table filled with kinetic sand where the children were invited to recreate the moon's surface using their hands or shaping tools. Moon-scraping @ the simulated lunar operations lab @ NASA Glenn Research center uses curved wooden shaping paddles, where they scoop out pits, in simulated moon soil, to prepare for testing robotic wheels & drive systems in an imagined lunar landscape. After reading Moon Earth's Best Friend by Stacy McAnulty & Steve Lewis in our tuff tray we placed kinetic sand, wooden tools, clear tubes, space figurines, & a moon to invite the children to recreate the moon's surface while pretending to be scientists. 

2. Lunar Crystal Scavenger Hunt: In the outdoor area of the museum, they had an interactive exhibit where the children were invited to imagine & play by searching for precious lunar ice crystals on the moon. They use rovers to help explore the lunar terrain & carry the crystals they find. To set a tuff tray scale of this  experience we hid Discount School Supply acrylic rocks as ice crystals underneath aquarium rocks in a bed of black sand. The children were invited to search for lunar crystals on the moon with the help of the rovers.