Hobbies And Interests
Edible Asteroid
Use mashed potatoes to create an edible asteroid. Mash four to eight cooked potatoes into mashed potatoes. Frozen or instant mashed potatoes can be used instead. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Add cheese, butter, salt and pepper to your bowl of mashed potatoes. If the mixture is too dry, add some milk because it should be slightly sticky. With a handful of the mashed potatoes, form your asteroids. Poke small dents into them with your fingers. Bake on a greased cookie sheet for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden.
Asteroid Game
Decorate white paper with markers and crayons to look like asteroids for an indoor or outdoor game. Wad them up into balls and put them inside a basket. Create enough asteroids for at least two teams. Place pillows and blankets in your living room or other flat area. After a signal, the two teams will battle by throwing asteroids at each other.
Asteroid Hunt
Using photos and software from Gettysburg College's Project Clea, older kids can download images and software to find asteroids. Digital images of the night sky are taken at different times, and kids learn how to be astronomers measuring the asteroids' coordinates. First kids learn to hunt and identify real asteroids and then kids identify neighboring stars to pinpoint the coordinates of the asteroids. Kids also see the same asteroids from different points in the world.
Paper Mache Model
Construct realistic models of asteroids with paper mache. Ball up old newspaper into an asteroid shape. Tape it together with masking tape. Mix together one part flour to one part water in a mixing bowl. Be sure the paper mache paste has a porridge consistency. Saturate strips of newspaper into the paste and lay one layer over the entire asteroid. Allow it to dry for 24 hours and then add another layer. Allow it to dry completely and then paint the asteroid with gray and brown paint. Hang the asteroids from the ceiling with string or twine.