Space activities
Follow the light, explore other worlds and see the Solar System in perspective. Choose a question, read an explanation and try the model to see what changes.
Every activity includes five reading levels, word help, a checkpoint and links to its science sources. No login is needed.
Earth, Moon and Sun
Follow the light, change your viewpoint and put our Solar System in perspective.
- 1
What causes day and night?
Turn Earth and follow a place as it moves into sunlight and darkness.
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Why do the seasons change?
Move a tilted Earth around the Sun and compare the two hemispheres.
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Why does the Moon appear to change shape?
Move the Moon around Earth and compare the sunlit part visible from our planet.
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Why is there not an eclipse every month?
Compare ordinary Moon phases with the special alignments that create eclipses.
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How big is our Solar System?
Compare the planets’ sizes and distances using clearly labelled scales.
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A tour of other worlds
Compare planets, change worlds and follow the clues left by smaller objects.
- 1
What makes a planet rocky or giant?
Compare the material and outer layers of familiar planets.
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Would the same object weigh less on the Moon?
Keep mass fixed while comparing gravitational force on Earth, the Moon and Mars.
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Why do different planets have different years?
Run two orbital clocks using published planetary periods.
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Is a shooting star really a star?
Follow small Solar System bodies and distinguish an object from an atmospheric event.
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What can overlapping craters tell us?
Inspect a real NASA lunar image and compare a separate impact-order model.
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Keep exploring
Read more in Space encyclopedia articles, with reading controls on each article. For printable practice, explore Maths worksheets and answer guides.