Trip to the Moon - DIY Sensory Tray Fun

How to prepare your child for returning to school

Who hasn't dreamed of a trip to space at least once? A child's curiosity certainly doesn't end with our planet. Lunar sensory play is a great adventure for children of all ages. Simply combine your child's creativity with objects you find around the house, and in minutes you'll be transported to the stars.

A girl covering her face with a bouquet of white and yellow flowers.

Materials needed

You can add whatever you like to the tray. Encourage your child to find items around the house that match the lunar landscape. These could be silver bottle caps, a washing cloth, or silver Christmas tree chains. Just remember that to maintain the lunar atmosphere, it's best to keep everything in one color scheme: silver, gray, black, and white.

a tray, a play box or a cake tin
potato flour
oil
black paint
white or gray sand, rice grains or sugar
stones
shiny creative materials, e.g. glitter, glass beads, sequins
interesting shells, fossils and crystals
figurines of cosmonauts and space creatures
a toy spoon or small shovel

How to prepare a sensory tray?

We'll begin our Moon Expedition by preparing the clay that will simulate the surface of the silver globe. To make the clay, we'll use a simple recipe for homemade, artificial snow for play. Pour flour or potato starch into a bowl and add a little oil. Adjust the proportions so that the clay is crumbly, but still manageable. The final step is to add a little black paint to achieve a lunar gray. A girl covering her face with a bouquet of white and yellow flowers.

We are creating a sensory tray

The contents of our play tray should delight not only the sense of sight but also the sense of touch. Make sure it includes elements with different textures, pliability, etc. We divided the tray into three regions: a lunar plain created from previously prepared clay; a white wasteland made of fine decorative sand (you can use rice or sugar); and a mysterious black river made of black sequins and glass beads (you can use black beans). Don't forget to hide small surprises within the clay for the space travelers to discover. You can arrange the prepared base with larger elements, and prepare the smaller ones sorted in a box with compartments. A girl covering her face with a bouquet of white and yellow flowers.

Sensory fun

The tray is ready and will be the perfect toy for a small child. Your little one can not only add new elements to the tray but also change what's already there. Give your little one a spoon or small shovel to dig up treasures hidden beneath the "moon's" surface. A girl covering her face with a bouquet of white and yellow flowers.

A sensory tray isn't just fun. It wonderfully develops all the senses. Individual elements can have different textures, colors, and hardnesses, and you can add food oils to the dough to provide a olfactory experience. Some elements squeak (household sand), others hum or make pleasant clinking sounds (glass marbles). A girl covering her face with a bouquet of white and yellow flowers.

Role-playing

This same tray is also perfect for older children. Simply add astronaut or alien figurines, and you can set off to the moon using only your imagination. You can create additional structures for the figurines in a space station style by shaping aluminum foil. A girl covering her face with a bouquet of white and yellow flowers.

Inspired by children's favorite patterns

Children have always loved space themes. This playset was inspired by the Endo space collection, perfect for little ones who dream of grand journeys and otherworldly discoveries. A girl covering her face with a bouquet of white and yellow flowers.