Wednesday 4 October 2017

Space Week Activities & Giveaway with Ora Kitchen Towel & Puffin Books

Ora and Puffin Books (part of Penguin Random House) have teamed up for Space Week, and asked if I'd like to join in. Ora Kitchen Towel naturally lends itself to rocket-building, it's the perfect accompaniment, so along with my 7 and 9 year old boys, we've come up with some Space Week activities that won't break the bank!


1. Make A Space Station
Every Spaceman, Cosmonaut or Astronaut wants to go to the Space Station like Tim Peake. You can have your Space Station behind the sofa, or practically anywhere, but on this occasion we decided ours was going to be under the kitchen table. I prepared some construction materials and my 9 year old took on the role of designer.


I've been saving bubble wrap from parcels for ages, it looks futuristic and is perfect. Every spacecraft needs shiny stuff too and my foil cost 50p - and I will recycle it with the cans when our rocket lands!


2. Add Stars
I picked up these Great Explorations Glowing Micro Stars at BlogOn - they're inexpensive, plastic and if you fix them on with putty (white tack), you can move and remove them whenever you want. You can also use stickers or make them from white paper. We went to town (and the Milky Way) on the bottom of the table...


3. Make it tricky and see how it feels to be an Astronaut
Wear gloves and try to do things that are normally easy. Try and write a letter or peel an orange, or fasten buttons or a zip.


4. Eat Like An Astronaut
In the Space Station there's no gravity, so you need a good grip on your food and can't have crumbs. You could eat real space food like our giveaway winner, or eat chocolate using a knife and fork. If you are older, skewer jelly beans - don't forget the gloves! No sandwiches though, bread is banned from the Space Station.

5. Conduct Scientific Experiments
Astronauts are scientists and spend a lot of their time doing experiments. It may be necessary to remove your space gloves for this bit.


We have an experiment to try from Tech Will Save Us (more about that in a couple of days), but there are loads of really excellent experiments online that cost very little and don't need fancy ingredients or equipment. Here are 16 children's experiments to try.

6. Create Your Own Planets
I'm actually a big fan of Ora kitchen towel. I use it sparingly, but sometimes you have something horrible to wipe up in a hurry or you really don't want to look at it again. ORA is a strong kitchen towel that is super easy to grab one-handed, opens right out to a big circle and won't fall apart because it got wet. This means you can actually draw on it, and the team at Puffin Books came up with the perfect finishing touch for our spaceship - a planets backdrop.



7. Read About Space
There are loads of excellent books about space, astronauts and aliens. Ora have partnered with Penguin Random House, the No 1 children’s publisher in the UK, for an exclusive on pack promotion that offers every purchaser of the single stack Ora a free audiobook of Goodnight Spaceman, a recent collaboration for the publisher with the European Space Agency and UK astronaut Tim Peake. The offer is on packs until the end of October and valid until 15th November 2017 (or until 1500 total have been claimed - see packs for details). For older children you can try the How Much Do You Know About Space? quiz.


8. Make A Rocket To Go Home


The special packs of Ora even have a silver base - they already look more like a rocket than anything we can make. I grabbed some bits and pieces from the craft drawer and left my son to work this one out and create his own personal rocket. He was a bit daunted at first, but he soon got into it - and he was really proud of the end result.


Here it is complete - our Space Station. (No-one mention that our planets should be OUTSIDE... shhhh... We have porthole windows, obviously).


Ora have very kindly offered a copy of  Goodnight Spaceman, some space food and a stack of Ora Kitchen Towel as a prize for one of my readers.

Entry to the giveaway is by Gleam form below. I don't store or pass on any details, they are only used to randomly select a winner, check their entry and contact them. The giveaway is open to UK entrants only and will end at midnight Sunday 29th October. Full terms and conditions at the bottom of the Gleam form.

To see my other UK giveaways or find help if you are new to Gleam, please see my Giveaways Page...

Space Week Activities & Giveaway with Ora Kitchen Towel & Puffin Books


We were paid for our time creating this post and administering the giveaway.

101 comments:

  1. I've seen space ice cream in various museum gift shops so I think I'd like to try that!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Rice pudding as it is my favourite dessert

    ReplyDelete
  3. Chicken burrito as i like it

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'd love to try space pavlova - to see if it is even lighter in space?

    ReplyDelete
  5. I am a big vegetarian antipasti fan so artichokes and olives would be interesting.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'd like to try chocolate cake as space food, as it's one of my favourite things to eat.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Chocolate as it's my favourite

    ReplyDelete
  8. ooh space desserts rice pudding and choc cake!! xx

    ReplyDelete
  9. Roast lamb because it's my favourite.

    ReplyDelete
  10. the ice cream to see if it actually tastes the same

    ReplyDelete
  11. I would like to try apple crumble and custard. Not sure how that would work.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Can I say pot noodle !!
    Maybe dehydrated chocolate cake too

    ReplyDelete
  13. Raspberries at least I would know they taste nice.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I would like to try leek & boursin risotto, as it's my favourite meal

    ReplyDelete
  15. Love to try chocolate cake

    ReplyDelete
  16. I would like to try chocolate as it is my absolute favourite food.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Steak, sweet potato wedges and Mediterranean vegetables as one of my favourite meals

    ReplyDelete
  18. I'd like to try tiramisu as space food!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Ice cream would be interesting to try

    ReplyDelete
  20. bananas! my alltime favourite food!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Fish and chips with pickled onions!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Pizza! Because I wouldn't be able to survive without it!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Mashed potato and baked beans together as my favourite.

    ReplyDelete
  24. I think I would quite like to see what a space donut would be like!

    ReplyDelete
  25. it would be interesting to eat a curry in space lol

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hmm, I would love to taste space potatoes or space fruit!!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Ice cream.... I can't even imagine what it would taste like

    ReplyDelete
  28. I would like to try chilli cheese bites

    ReplyDelete
  29. Sunday roast because I love it.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Definitely ice cream I just can't imagine what it would be like!

    ReplyDelete
  31. I'd give a roast dinner a try! Roast beef with a hit of horseradish might work!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Roast Beef and Yorkshire pudding would be fab to try lol

    ReplyDelete
  33. would have to be icecream, i think i would miss that if i was in space

    ReplyDelete
  34. I would love a space cake it might just give me a super space powers

    ReplyDelete
  35. I would love to try space ice cream as it would be strange to see what it's like as it's supposed to be watery

    ReplyDelete
  36. Chocolate cake or lemon, pea risotto

    ReplyDelete
  37. A full English breakfast. Think the beans might be a bit tricky though!

    ReplyDelete
  38. Roast chicken with roast potatoes

    ReplyDelete
  39. Chilli Nachos my favourite treat

    ReplyDelete
  40. Brussels Sprouts...I love them but I'd love to see my fellow astronauts faces in the afternoon after I've eaten a plate full - in that small space capsule ;)

    ReplyDelete
  41. I would like schnitzels if they could fit it in the packet.

    ReplyDelete
  42. fish and chips

    ReplyDelete
  43. chocolate, must have chocolate, even on a space mission!

    ReplyDelete
  44. a roast dinner to remind me of sundays

    ReplyDelete
  45. Macaroni cheese or spaghetti csrbonara because it's my absolute favourite food 🍲

    ReplyDelete
  46. Toad in the hole.

    ReplyDelete
  47. Oooh I reckon pizza? Pizza is good anywhere! I've tried space ice cream before and t was pretty delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  48. Carrot soup. My favourite. Enjoy a light meal

    ReplyDelete
  49. Chicken curry the I wouldn't get withdrawl symptoms

    ReplyDelete
  50. Chocolate because it's something I would miss eating if I were in space

    ReplyDelete
  51. I would like to try porridge with pomegranate. I dont like breakfast so it would be easy to take

    ReplyDelete
  52. Chicken curry - Sounds interesting

    ReplyDelete
  53. Pizza although not sure how well it would work!!

    ReplyDelete
  54. Its got to be chocolate,to see if it would still satisfy the craving!

    ReplyDelete
  55. A sunday roast, because it's my favourite!

    ReplyDelete
  56. ice cream as it sounds nice

    ReplyDelete
  57. I'd like to try a roast dinner as it would be interesting!

    ReplyDelete
  58. I'd like to try chocolate to see if it's still tasty :)

    ReplyDelete
  59. marshmallows would be an interesting one

    ReplyDelete
  60. ashleigh walbridge29 October 2017 at 11:58

    I'm thinking fruit would be cool to try. Ice cream would also work well I think but would it be cold? so many choices lol

    ReplyDelete
  61. Cheerios! I think it would be quite fun trying to catch them in your mouth!

    ReplyDelete
  62. Rice pudding its my favourite xx

    ReplyDelete
  63. I think peanut butter sandwiches would make interesting space food!

    ReplyDelete
  64. I think peanut butter sandwiches would make interesting space food!

    ReplyDelete
  65. Space salted caramel, I imagine it would just be a big solid block of caramel yum.

    ReplyDelete
  66. A really good chicken tikka masala 😙

    ReplyDelete
  67. Bacon sandwiches and brown sauce.

    ReplyDelete
  68. all those veggies that I can't be bothered to eat but I know I should!

    ReplyDelete
  69. My Mum's beef stroganoff - to see if it's still as yummy as it is when she makes it normally. But she makes it with white wine instead of brandy which I believe it the "traditional" way.

    ReplyDelete
  70. curry rice and naan bread! not sure i would cope without my weekly curry

    ReplyDelete
  71. Praline chocolate as my favourite

    ReplyDelete
  72. i would like to try pizza its something i love and not sure if they could do

    ReplyDelete
  73. Chicken enchiladas, bet that would be interesting.

    ReplyDelete
  74. I would like to try a full English breakfast - although it could get messy in space!

    ReplyDelete
  75. I can't get some of the entries, says their clock is out of sync!

    ReplyDelete
  76. Probably none as don't like dehydrated food. If it was definitely going to be delicious I would say pizza

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. I read every one and try my best to reply!