Star Window Light Catcher

What you need

• Paper, 1 sheet black paper
• Clear contact paper, 2 pieces
• Tissue paper in yellow, white and blue, small pieces
• Kid scissors
• Crayons or markers, 1 light crayon (optional)
• Clear tape, for hanging or instead of contact paper (optional)
• Flashlight (optional)

How to do it

Grown-up prep: Cut two pieces of clear contact paper a little bigger than your black sheet, tear tissue into small bits, and keep the scissors handy for little ones.

1. Draw two big stars in the middle of your black paper.
2. Cut out the stars to make your star frame. Ask for help if you need it
3. Peel the backing off one contact paper and lay it sticky side up.
4. Press your black frame flat onto the sticky sheet.
5. Fill the star holes with bits of tissue, letting them overlap.
   Ask: What color do you think blue and yellow will make when light shines through them?
6. Lay the second contact paper on top and smooth it flat.
7. Trim the extra clear edges around your frame. Ask for help if you need it
8. Tape your stars to a sunny window and look closely.
   Ask: Why do you think light shines through the tissue but not through the black paper?
9. After dark, shine a flashlight behind your stars.
10. Make more and build a whole night sky! How many stars will fill your window?
    Ask: What else could shine in your night sky, a moon or a comet?

Play it again

• Color mixer: make a star using only two colors and guess the new color before you hang it.
• Constellation copy: look up a star pattern and make a frame that matches it.
• Shadow show: shine the flashlight from far away and close up, and watch the stars grow and shrink on the wall.