Space Colony Discovery Lab | Space Science Project for Grades 4-7 | Printable PDF + Class Slideshow
Space Colony Discovery Lab | Space Science Project for Grades 4-7 | Printable PDF + Class Slideshow
SPACE COLONY DISCOVERY LAB
Ten sessions. One real problem. Something your child builds, tests and explains — no science degree required.
Designed by drawing on leading primary curricula from around the world. Fits alongside any homeschool plan or classroom, Grades 4–7 (ages 9–13).
A hundred people. No help within months. What does your child have to get right?
Session two is the turn this Lab is built on: instead of listing what a colony needs, your child lists what Earth has been doing for free the whole time - air, water, warmth, pressure, gravity - and then works out which of those a machine now has to replace.
THE TEN SESSIONS
1. Meet the mission
2. What Earth does for free - life support, and spotting explanations that are too simple to be true
3. Do the supplies add up? - oxygen, storage, percentages as fractions and backup days, with units
4. Get the water back - a fair condensation test with bowls, cups, cling film, warm water and ice
5. What do the results show? - a bar chart, a three-sentence report, and one honest limit of the test
6. Where should it go? - the Moon, Mars or orbit, scored by the same rules, one decision, one cost
7. Plan your colony - five connected systems, an energy input, a backup and three checks
8. Build it
9. Test and improve - run the checks, change one thing because of what you found
10. Present to the space agency - a one-minute mission pitch and a question to answer
WHAT YOUR CHILD ENDS UP WITH
A labelled model colony from boxes, straws, blocks or a detailed drawing, with five connected systems, an energy input, a backup, the supply calculations, a completed condensation test with a chart, and an improvement they can explain.
WHAT YOU GET — instant download
📓 Student Workbook (45 pages): every question, activity and project log for all ten sessions, in our new field-notebook look.
🗝️ Answer Guide (19 pages): the answers, plus the next question to ask when your child is stuck, so they get there themselves. Includes a 20-point rubric.
🖥️ Class Slideshow (108 slides, PowerPoint + PDF): put each session up on a TV or board. The answers sit in the speaker notes.
🍎 Teacher Pack (8 pages): teacher guide, a ready-to-send letter to parents and the classroom licence.
You don't need to be a science teacher. The answer guide carries the subject knowledge, and your job is to ask the next question. We've written those out for you.
SYSTEMS, NOT FACTS
The hard part is not naming what a crew needs. It is noticing that water, air and power are the same problem wearing three hats, and that every one of them needs a backup.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED FROM THE HOUSE
Three identical clear bowls and three small cups. Cling film and three rubber bands. Three small sealable bags of water. Warm tap water and ice. A measuring syringe or teaspoon. A timer and a towel. Boxes, tubs and recycling. Straws or string, card, tape and markers. Scissors.
A NOTE ON WHERE IT IS SET
The colony is imagined and the science context is global, drawn from NASA and the International Space Station.
HOW A LAB RUNS
- Ten sessions, designed to run one a day over two weeks. One a week across a term works too; go at your child's pace.
- Three stages: Look and learn (sessions 1-3), Try and test (4-6), Make it (7-10).
- Every session has the same five parts: Last time, Learn, Your turn, Project log, Stop here.
- Help lines give younger learners a first step. Extra challenge questions stretch Grades 6-7, and can be skipped.
- Works for one child at home, a pair, or a small group.
- Nothing specialised to buy. The materials list above is kitchen-drawer and recycling.
GOOD TO KNOW
- A4 pages; on US Letter, print with “fit to page”.
- Metric units and British spelling.
- Materials come from the kitchen drawer and the recycling bin.
- Instant digital download. Nothing is posted.
- The illustrations were made with the help of AI image tools. The learning design, questions and answers are written and checked by Primary Project Labs.
- Because the files arrive instantly, we do not take returns. If a file will not open or you find a mistake, message us and we will fix it or send a replacement.
- One household, or one teacher with their own class. Schools, tutoring businesses and learning centres: contact us about a group licence.
Primary Project Labs — Observe. Explore. Build.