Floating in Space

Lab Brief #19

🎯 Your mission

Set it up. Test it. Be amazed.

⚡ The twist

Nature loves to surprise the careful watcher.

What you'll learn

Astronauts float because they and their spacecraft are falling around the Earth together. Gravity is still there — it is what bends their path into a circle.

Key words

Earth
The planet we live on, the third one from the Sun.
astronaut
A person trained to travel and work in outer space.
space
The huge empty area beyond Earth where stars and planets are.

Make a hypothesis first

Before you start: write down what you think will happen, and why.

Say your guess out loud — then find out if you were right.

Get ready

🧰 What you need

flashlight
ball (Earth)
small ball (moon)

⚠️ Safety first

Have an adult check your set-up before you start, and tidy everything away afterwards.

Step 1 of 4 · Read

Look at the new words. Can you say each one?

Step 2 of 4 · Do

Use a flashlight and a ball to show how the Earth's spin creates day and night.

Step 3 of 4 · Observe

Watch carefully. What happens?

Step 4 of 4 · Record

Draw and write about what you learned.

Question 1 of 3

What do astronauts do?

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Question 2 of 3

How long does it take Earth to go around the sun?

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Question 3 of 3

What is the closest star to Earth?

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Mind = blown

🔬 The more you look, the more nature shows you.

Nice work!

You got 0 of 3 right.

Next: One Year Around the Sun All lessons

🎯

Next Smart Experiment

We'll pick an experiment that matches exactly how you're thinking right now.

✨ More to explore

🌍 Where you see this in real life: This shows up in your everyday life more than you'd think.

🏆 Stretch challenge (try it this week): Try one experiment in real life this week — even a tiny one.

👨‍👩‍👧 For the dinner table: “What's the most surprising thing you learned today?”

🌞Share card

Share this experiment

Send it to a parent who's looking for a 10-minute kitchen science win.

Floating in Space

Next Smart Experiment

Share this experiment

Floating in Space

Done with science? Try something else

Your Cart (0)