Moon Rock Painting

Did you know that the “soil” on the surface of the moon is called regolith? Regolith is a fine powder made from rock fragments and pieces of volcanic glass. In this activity, your child will recreate the texture of regolith and then use it to paint a paper moon.

Directions

Before you begin, start a conversation with your child about the surface of the moon. Ask your child, “What do you think the surface of the moon looks like? What do you think it feels like?” Explain that texture is how surface feels.

Place the chalk into a plastic zip bag and seal the bag. Help your child use a rolling pin to crush the chalk into a crumbly powder.

Pour the crushed chalk into a mixing bowl and then add the glitter, gray paint and water.

Stir the mixture until it is well blended but thick and chunky. What does the mixture look like? How does it feel? Does your child think the texture feels similar to the texture of regolith on the moon? How might your mixture feel the same or different than real regolith?

Cut out a circle from the construction paper.

Have your child use the paintbrush to paint your “regolith” mixture onto the construction paper.

Let your painting dry. Does it feel the same or different than when it was wet? In what way?

Explore Further

Try observing the moon each night with your child and record what you notice about the moon's shape in a moon journal. The moon's shape appears to change, but it's surface actually stays the same. Continue learning about the moon's phases to help your child continue to be curious about space.