Moon Crater Science Experiment

One of our homeschool unit studies has been about the moon. We've talked about every aspect of the moon--what it's like to walk on the moon, the first moon landing, how the moon reflects light from the sun, how craters are made, and more. To show how craters are made and what the surface of the moon is like, we did this quick and easy Moon Crater Science Experiment. It's super simple, but my kindergartner loved it. It got the point across in a fun, hands-on way. If you ask me, that's the best way to learn.

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First things first: This activity is paired best with the book What the Moon Is Like in the Let's Read & Find Out Science Series, so we snuggled up on the couch and read the book before doing this activity. We discussed what the surface of the moon looked like and how craters are made. To really make the learning stick, we then did this simple moon science experiment.

What the Moon is Like (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science, Stage 2)What you need:

Round Cake Pan
Flour
Small Rocks or marbles

How to make moon craters:

Place a thick layer of flour in the round cake pan. I know it seems wasteful, but it's the only way you'll get the moon crater effect. Smooth it out as best as you can. (I didn't do a very good job with this because I had a curious little boy waiting on me. So, smooth it out better than mine.)

Place the round cake pan on the ground. It's best to do this outside because this can get messy. If you choose to do this experiment indoors, place something under the pan to catch the flying flour.

Have your child drop the rocks or marbles into the pan of flour.

Carefully take the rocks out of the pan. You should see "craters" where the rocks were.

See? Super easy, but an effective way to show how craters are made.