Potato Asteroids

One of the best ways to learn about scientific principles is to find a way to make those principles apply to you personally. In this case where you will read about making edible astronomy crafts, it is hard to get any more personal. The following ideas are sure to get your little learners interested in making astronomy crafts as they can then be free to eat their work when they are finished. Here is one savory and one sweet idea that you could use at dinner time tonight.

Potato asteroids

Asteroids are naturally irregular in their appearance. It is for this reason that mashed potatoes are the perfect creative medium for this craft. The process is simple; you will want to make a soft mash potato dough that you can then mold into the shape of an asteroid. If you are using real potatoes the consistency should be pretty simple to achieve, simply boil peeled potato pieces, mash them, allow them to cool and then mold them. IF you are using instant potatoes, you may need to increase the ratio of potato flakes to water to ensure that the potatoes do not come out too runny. Once you have your mashed potatoes molded into a round shape, you can use your fingers to make craters, salt and pepper to add colored spots and even food coloring if you think that your asteroid ought to be a different color. Place your mashed potato asteroid onto a well greased cookie sheet and bake in the oven at 375 degrees for approximately 20-25 minutes (or until the edges of the asteroid brown). Cool and eat your asteroids for dinner. You can also be creative with the other dishes you serve in this meal to make the whole meal an astronomy based experience. You can talk about the fact that asteroids are simply chunks of rocks that orbit the sun. Most asteroids orbit between Mars and Jupiter but some asteroids have entered or at least crossed the Earth’s atmosphere/orbit.