The Moon - Information for kids

Have you ever looked up at the night sky and see the beautiful Moon?  Have you seen that the Moon does not have the same shape every single night?  

• Can you draw the different shapes that the moon has and which you have seen?
• Do you know what we call these different phases?
• Why does the moon have different phases?
• Did you see the dark spots on the moon?  What is it?
• Has there ever been any people on the moon?

If you cannot answer all these questions, do not worry, you are going to learn more about the moon and at the end of this worksheet you can come back to these questions and I am sure you will then be able to answer it all.

Features of the moon

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The moon is very different from Earth and the Moon in NOT a planet.  It is made of rocks and it moves around Earth in a circle (or orbit) - just like Earth orbits around the Sun, the Moon orbits around Earth.

Some interesting facts about the moon

1. The Moon is smaller than Earth.
2. The Moon is made of rock and the surface of the Moon is rock and grey sand.
3. The Moon has no air and water.
4. People weigh less on the Moon than on Earth, because the force of gravity is less there than on Earth.
5. The Sun is much further  away from Earth than the Moon.
6. The Moon is 384 000 km from Earth.

Try and answer these question (first think a little about the facts you just read)

• Why must astronauts wear special suits when they go to the Moon? 
• Why are you able to jump higher if you are on the Moon?

Exploring the Moon

In 1969  a rocket called Apollo 11 where send to the Moon with three men in it - this was the first time a human went to the Moon.

                         

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• Do research and find the names of the first men on the Moon.
• What is the famous saying that one of the men said when he walked on the moon for the first time?

What do we find on the Moon?  

Read the following story and imagine it is you going to the Moon. When you are done reading the story, re-tell it to your friend.

The spacecraft goes down slowly to the Moon's surface and blows up a big dust cloud in the air.  There is no air on the Moon so the dust just falls back quickly to the surface.  We have to put on our space suits, we must make sure there is air in the tanks to breathe, we need our radios to talk to one another and special glass helmets to protect our eyes from the Sun.

                                             

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The ground under our feet is grey sand, dust and small rocks.

The craters that we see are big holes in the surface of the Moon.  (this is created because some Moon Rocks that travel very fast through space, sometimes smash into the Moon.) In the places where they hit, they make a hole and a ring of sand.

The sky is black, not blue.  We can see the stars and the Sun at the same time.  The Sun is much brighter than on Earth and we are glad we have protective glass in our helmets.

We wear special shoes because the temperature of the ground is hotter than boiling water, but if we stop in the shade of a rock, the temperature is colder than ice. (The temperature changes so much because there is no air on the Moon.  On Earth the air keeps the Earth's surface from getting too hot or too cold.)

• Why do we need tanks with air and special glass in our helmets?
• What can we see at the same time from the Moon?
• Explain what the temperature is like on the Moon.
• What are the holes in the Moon called and how are they made?

The phases of the moon

A phase is a period of time.  

As the moon orbits around Earth it looks like it is changing its shape.  It can change from a small crescent to a full circle.  

                                                

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The different phases are named the following (from left to right on the picture)

• Waxing Crescent
• First Quarter
• Waxing Gibbous
• Full Moon
• Waning Gibbous
• Third Quarter
• Waning Crescent

The moon moves in an orbit around Earth and it takes 29 and a half days to complete the full orbit (go around Earth once)

But does the moon really change its shape?  No, it is just because the Moon orbits Earth  and depending on the position of the Sun, the Moon and Earth in the orbit, Earth can block the Sun's light from reaching the Moon and casts a shadow - you cannot see the part of the moon where the shadow is - we only see the part of the Moon on which the Sun shines.

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Lets have some fun and get creative 

You can design and make a 3D model of the Moon (if you want you can build Earth and the Sun or the whole Solar system).  You can choose any material you would like to use and if you need an idea on how to build a 3D Moon, you can watch the video.

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Read the Moon story on http://yourstoryclub.com/short-stories-for-kids/short-story-for-kids-proudy-moon/ (you can just read it or you can also compile some of your own questions and answer it.)

I hope you had fun learning more about the moon.