Seems like the minute my boys turned two years old they had perfected the rocket ship sound effect. You know the sound well. *Fuhshhhhhhew* They’ll make anything into a spacecraft — a shoe *Fushhhew*, their lunch container lid *Shhhew*, a random piece of trash *Fuhshhhew, shew* — which got me thinking. What can we use, that we already have around the house, to make our very own, personalized spaceship? It was easier than I thought.
In just a matter of minutes I had cobbled together everything we’d need to make our spaceship and in less than an hour we had a finished product that my son could be proud of. So go for it, Earthling! Make a memory — and a cool new toy — with your kiddo today!
Make Your Own Space Shuttle Craft
Here’s what you’ll need to make your own out-of-this-world craft:
- Scissors
- Hot Glue Gun
- Paint Tray
- Brushes
- Craft paints
- 1 Large clear juice bottle (cleaned & dried)
- 2 Smaller clear soda or water bottles (cleaned & dried)
- Cereal box (or other piece of cardboard)
STEP 1: Paint Your Shuttle and Rocket Boosters
After cleaning out the inside of your bottles and allowing them to dry, pour in your desired paint color, replace the cap and shake the bottle until the inside is completely covered. Start with less paint than you think you’ll need. You can always add more, but waiting for excess paint to drip out will prolong your project. We used white paint for our shuttle and a mix of red and orange paint for the rocket boosters.
STEP 2: Create & Attach Shuttle Wings
Cut out wings and a tail from the cereal box, making use of the bends in the box for your glue flaps. Paint the wings top and bottom. We painted the bottoms black to match the heat shield on a real shuttle (and to cover up the printing on the cereal box).
STEP 3: Add Designs to Your Space Craft
Paint whatever designs you want on the outside of the bottle. You could also use stickers and beads to make you shuttle extra fancy.
STEP 4: Put it All Together
Using hot glue, adhere the wings, tail and external rocket engines to your shuttle.
That’s all there is to it. Four simple steps for a space shuttle craft that is sure to bring hours of fun for your budding astronaut. Bet you never thought you’d make something so fun and creative with your household trash.
Looking for more space activities for kids?
- Grab my preschool and tot space packs.
- Follow my Space Pinterest Board for even more space craft ideas.