Women…In…Spaaaaaaaace!
Difficulty
Grade levels
Estimated time
1-5
30 mins – 45 mins
Discuss women in science, build a rocket, and encourage youth to
follow their dreams!
Featured Resource:
Skills Checklist
Every Child Ready to Read
 ☒ Talking
 ☐ Singing
 ☒Reading
 ☒Writing
 ☒Playing
st
21 Century Skills
 ☐ Flexibility and
adaptability
 ☒ Initiative and selfdirection
 ☐ Teamwork and
collaboration
 ☒ Critical thinking and
problem solving
 ☒ Diversity
 ☒ Creativity and
innovation
STEM
 ☒ Science
 ☒ Technology
 ☒ Engineering
 ☒ Math
We’ve checked off skills
incorporated in the curriculum.
If your version of the activity
utilizes more skills, check those
off as well!
Mae Jemison: Out of this World
by Corinne J. Naden
Chronicles the life of Mae Jemison, an
astronaut who became the first African
American woman in space.
Copies: 25
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Tools and Materials
Scissors, cardboard tube (can be replaced with paper),
glue, construction paper, felt, pencils, crayons, markers,
slips of paper
Books & magazines about women in science
LEAPtop/iPad
Prepare ahead of time
1. Read through books, magazines, and websites to find
relevant women scientists to use as examples.
2. Set out related books/magazines about women in
science.
3. Check out the online resources listed below and decide
whether or not you want to include one or more of them
to the students before you begin.
4. Set out craft supplies. Cut paper to appropriate sizes for
the craft.
5. Think about guiding questions and ways to encourage
students to think about their own scientific goals and
dreams.
Activity:
1. Read the book about Mae Jemison to the students. If you want to use a different book as your
example, that’s fine, but remember that the craft is tied to space. You may want to pick a woman who
is still in the field of rockets, space exploration, and astronomy.
2. Ask them guiding questions. (I.E. Would they like to go to space? Would they want to help build
rockets or help astronauts like Mae to get to space? How do you think Mae felt achieving her goal?)
Get them to think about their own dreams and goals.
3. Using the small slips of paper, have the students write their dreams and goals down. If they’re too
young for writing, consider have them draw themselves achieving their dream or goal. You can
encourage scientific goals or make it more general.
4. Begin making the rocket ship. Have the students cover the cardboard tube in construction paper, felt,
or something similar using glue. Alternatively, you could use staples or tape. If you don’t have a
cardboard tube, role up a piece of cardstock in a tube shape and glue it together to make the frame of
the rocket. Then cover the bottom hole of the tube with a circular piece of paper or felt so the tube is
closed on one end.
5. Have students attach four triangular piece of paper or felt to the closed end of the frame to create the
fin. This is the bottom of the rocket. Then have students create a cone out of larger triangular piece of
felt or paper and glue to create the nose cone. Put it aside for now.
6. Have students place the goals and dreams they listed earlier inside the open slot. Then attach the nose
cone made in the last step to the top of the frame, closing and completing the rocket. Explain to the
students that this rocket carries their hopes and dreams and represents how they can succeed in them
just like how Sally Ride, Mae Jemison, and Ellen Ochoa achieved theirs.
7. Lead the students in some self- affirmations reminding them they can be successful in their endeavors,
scientific or otherwise. Let them decorate their rockets as they choose.
Guided questions and self-affirmations
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Asks students how the might achieve their own goals. For examples, how did Sally or other women
scientists achieve their goals? How might the follow in their footsteps?
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Make sure these questions can’t be answered with a simple yes or no. You want students to think
critically about what they can do and how they might do it.
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When leading student in self-affirmations make the students as comfortable as possible. It can be
embarrassing to say these things out loud, so it’s best to minimize that. Just saying it out load with
them can make them much more comfortable.
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Here are some examples of self-affirmations that are easier for children to understand:
o I am awesome.
o I can achieve anything I set my mind to.
o I enjoy learning.
o I believe in myself and my abilities.
o I can follow my dreams.
o I accept myself even though I sometimes make mistakes.
o I trust myself in making great decisions.
o I enjoy trying new ideas.
Related Library Resources:
Sally Ride: astronaut, scientist, teacher
by Pamela Hill Nettleton
A brief biography that highlights some
important events in the life of the first
American woman in space.
Copies: 31
Ellen Ochoa : the First Hispanic Woman in
Space
by Joy Paige
Profiles the life and career of the first
Hispanic astronaut in space.
Copies: 6
Women in Space
by Carole S. Briggs
Profiles some of the women, including two
Russians, who have had important roles in
space exploration and provides a brief
history of the U.S. space program.
Copies: 11
Portraits of Hispanic American Heroes
by Juan Felipe Herrera
An inspiring tribute to Hispanic Americans
who have made a positive impact on the
world. This visually stunning book
showcases twenty Hispanic and Latino
American men and women who have
made outstanding contributions to the arts,
politics, science, humanitarianism, and
athletics.
Copies: 28
Extraordinary Women Scientists
By Darlene R. Stille
Profiles of different women scientists.
Copies: 22
African American Women Scientists and
Inventors
by Otha Richard Sullivan
Profiles of African American women
scientists and inventors.
Copies: 44
Note: You may notice this list of books is a little short, and that there aren’t many copies of the
books we do have. Look at your branch’s collection and make suggestions for ways to make
your selection of biographies, and all other genres, more inclusive. Women and people of
color are consistently underrepresented, so do what you can to help solve that problem by
making suggestions to your children’s librarian so every child can see themselves represented
at the libraries we love!
Online Resources:
LEAP Wiki
Check the LEAP wiki after the training to review the great ideas shared to adapt this activity during the
monthly trainings! http://leap.freelibrary.wikispaces.net/
LEAP YouTube
Check out the “Science!” playlist on our YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCydthjmrZsh3Gsn7e1aKa3Q
NASA
Unsurprisingly, NASA has some really cool stuff about space, and interviews with the women who work there!
https://women.nasa.gov/
https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/index.html
Association for Women in Science
http://www.awis.org/
Astronomical Society of the Pacific
A resource guide for finding women in astronomy: https://www.astrosociety.org/education/astronomyresource-guides/women-in-astronomy-an-introductory-resource-guide/
Women’s History Month for Kids
http://www.timeforkids.com/minisite/womens-history-month