20 Fun Space Crafts For Kids

Last Updated on April 27, 2026 by Masha Eretnova

Space is one of those topics that hooks kids fast — and it stays with them.

Whether you’re wrapping up a solar system unit, celebrating World Space Week (October 4–10), counting down to National Space Day (May), marking Space Exploration Day (July 20), or just looking for something to do on a Tuesday, these 20 crafts deliver.

Some are messy, some are quick, some sneak in real science — but all of them are worth the prep time.

1. UFO Paper Plate Craft with Free Template

Kids cut a paper plate into a UFO shape, paint it black, then add an alien character from a free printable template — complete with googly eyes if they want. The whole project comes in under $5, and it doubles as a prop for pretend play once the paint dries.

• Best age: Preschool and up

2. Rocket Handprint Craft with Free Template

A child’s handprint becomes the flame shooting out the bottom of a rocket built from colored cardstock pieces. You just need colored cardstock, glue, and scissors.

• Best age: Preschool through early elementary

3. Basketweave Rocket Ship

Did you know if you weave strips of colorful cardstock together you can make a rocket? I had no idea!

It is a great way to practice fine motor skills while making something that looks genuinely impressive on a bulletin board. A paper cutter makes the prep go a lot faster, but scissors work fine too.

• Best age: Elementary (grades K–3)

4. Alien Craft Stick Puppets with Free Template

Using a free printable template, kids can trace alien and UFO shapes onto colored paper, cut them out, assemble them, and stick them on popsicle sticks to make a three-puppet set (two aliens and a UFO).

Pair these with a few space-themed picture books and you’ve got an afternoon of stories and puppet shows covered.

• Best age: Preschool and up

5. Space Themed Finger Puppets — Free Printable

This free printable PDF includes 10 finger puppet characters — 4 astronauts, 2 robots, and 4 aliens — plus a planet research report. Download, print, color, cut, and roll the tabs around little fingers for instant imaginative play.

• Best age: Preschool and up

6. Free Space Papercraft Template

With this craft yuo can trace and cut out a sun, comet, two planets (including Saturn), and a rocket from colored craft paper with your kids.

It’s a great tabletop display once it’s done — or a jumping-off point for a conversation about what each object actually is.

• Best age: Preschool through early elementary

7. Galaxy Slime — Inspired by Ada and the Galaxies

This post pairs the picture book Ada and the Galaxies (written by Alan Lightman and illustrated with actual Hubble telescope photographs) with a recipe for three-color galaxy slime that kids twist together for a swirling cosmic effect.

The slime starts as three separate batches — black, purple, and teal — then gets twisted into one dazzling blob.

• Best age: 5 and up (with adult help for mixing)

8. Solar System Sugar Cookies

Bake sugar cookies in different sizes to represent each planet and the sun, then mix frosting colors to match and decorate each one — using a ziplock bag to pipe Saturn’s rings. It’s a science lesson wrapped in a baking project, and the results are genuinely edible. Kids LOVE this activity.

• Best age: 6 and up (with adult supervision for baking)

9. Solar System Paper Craft

Using two sheets of black paper glued together, kids draw orbital paths with a white gel pen, then cut planets from colored paper in the right hues and arrange them in order from the sun. This project is massive and it makes it even more fun!

• Best age: Kindergarten through elementary

10. Coffee Filter Galaxy Craft

This is a fun way to use coffee filters. Kids can color them with washable markers in blue, purple, and pink, mist them with a spray bottle of water so the colors bleed and blend, creating colorful galaxy!

• Best age: Preschool and up

11. Paper Plate Moon Craft

Simple paper plate craft making up night sky with crescent moon — with glow-in-the-dark star stickers scattered around for effect. WHy not making a full set representing each moon phase? Great for space and Astronomy days.

• Best age: 3 and up

12. Outer Space Activity Pack

This resource page celebrates World Space Week with printable activity sheets and a set of hands-on project ideas — including building a solar system model with painted Styrofoam balls, making a cardboard tube rocket, and creating star constellation art on black paper with star stickers.

• Best age: Preschool through elementary. Great for classrooms.

13. Galaxy Handprint Spray Bottle Art

A paper handprint filled with spray in purple, teal, and white creates a galaxy-colored silhouette. Once dry, you can peel the handprint and write down a message or draw something in the center.

• Best age: 4 and up

14. Midnight Galaxy Glitter Slime

This three-ingredient slime uses a bottle of black glitter glue as the base, activated with liquid starch, then mixed with glitter and sequins to look like a star-filled night sky — and it glows in the dark when you add glow-in-the-dark slime to the mix.

• Best age: 5 and up (adult supervision recommended)

15. Free Printable Space Coloring Bookmarks — 5 Designs

Five black-and-white space-themed bookmarks (each with a different reading-related pun: “Reading is a blast,” “Land on a good book,” etc.) are ready to print, color, cut out, and actually use. They’re a low-prep, screen-free activity that connects to books.

• Best age: 4 and up

16. Galaxy in a Jar

If you let kids layer cotton balls, colored water, and glitter inside a plastic jar three times over, sealing it up to create a swirling nebula effect — you will hold a tiny galaxy in your hands. Each child can choose their own colors, making every jar unique, and the sealed jars look great displayed on a shelf or windowsill.

• Best age: 3 and up (with adult help pouring)

17. Name Rocket Craft for Preschoolers

Each letter of a child’s name goes on a separate square of construction paper, which then stacks up to form the body of a rocket — with a triangle nose at the top and flame cutouts at the bottom — all glued onto a black background with foil star stickers around it. Super easy and looks cool, right?

• Best age: 3–5 (preschool)

18. Astronaut and Spaceship Coloring Pages — Free Printable

These free printable coloring pages feature astronauts and spaceships that kids can color in, or — as the creator puts it — turn into self-portraits by drawing their own face inside the helmet. They work as a standalone activity or as a starting point for a bigger space art project.

• Best age: 3 and up

19. Easy Rocket Craft for Preschoolers with Free Template

Kids can print and color the free rocket template on white cardstock, cut it out, and assemble to use as a pretend play prop. This rocket even has a little seat where a small toy can “ride” inside. It’s designed by a former preschool teacher and is structured enough for a classroom center.

• Best age: 3–6

20. Free Papercraft Spaceship Printable

Using a free downloadable template, kids can trace spaceship shapes onto colored craft papers, cut them out, and layer them together (dome on top, circular portholes along the middle, landing base on the bottom) before outlining everything with a black Sharpie for a clean, graphic finish.

• Best age: Preschool through early elementary

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There’s no shortage of space crafts out there, but these 20 are worth bookmarking — they’re well-photographed, clearly written, and the supplies are straightforward enough that you won’t spend half the day tracking down materials. Pin it for later!