How many craters can you make?
Collect some spare change and create craters on the moon with this fun activity! This is a great way to introduce children to the concept of money using coins and simple addition.
💰Travel the World! Explore money and coins from other countries! Do they look the same or different from the money in your home country?
💅 Be careful! Little nails may want to scratch the tin foil rather than rub with the pads of their fingers.
🌙 Did you know? There are over 5,000 craters on our moon!
Materials
For this activity you will need:
Coins of various denominations
Tin foil
Scissors
Black paper
Glue stick
Learning Outcomes
Domain
Cognitive
Skills
Representation
Indicators:
Beginning to use art media and tools to express ideas, feelings and experiences.
Instructions
Step 1:
Start by cutting a circle out of tin foil.
Step 2:
Place the coins next to the circle and introduce them to your child. Encourage them to have a look at them and understand their sizes and denominations.
Step 3:
Next, call out a denomination of the name of a coin and have your child pick it from the pile and place it under the tin foil. They can rub the spot on top of the tin foil with the coin until an impression is made on the tin foil to resemble a crater.
Step 4:
Continue the process until they’re happy with how many craters appear on the tin foil moon.
Step 5:
Take a glue stick and place glue on the back of the tin foil and glue it to your construction paper. Now, your moon is floating in space!
⬆️ For older preschoolers: If your child understands the concept of money, give them a number to “create” craters out of. For example, give them the amount of $1.05 and they must create the craters on the tin foil the coins in the pile without going over.
⬇️ For younger toddlers: Younger children may not be able to understand the concept of money and addition yet — that’s ok! Let them have fun with rubbing the coins under the tin foil without the math aspect!
Playful Questions
Can you create a moon that has the impressions of only quarters on it?
Have you ever seen money from another country?
Can you read the words imprinted on the tinfoil from the coins underneath?
Have you ever seen a crater on earth?
What do you think causes craters on the moon?
