Summer Skies Marshmallow Constellations

This summer, add this marshmallow constellation activity to your thematic units on space!

Want a fun way to learn about the stars you can see in North America during the summer? Start by doing this summer skies marshmallow constellations STEM activity before going on any camping adventures this summer!

One of our favorite summer activities is to go out to the country where my in-laws live, turn off all the lights, and gaze at the stars.

Monkey loves learning about astronomy and she always is asking the names of the stars we see in the sky. I always have a hard time identifying constellations, so this project was for the both of us!

This activity is one of our favorite technology activities for kids!

You’ll also want to check out the ultimate list of summer STEM activities and the ultimate list of summer science experiments.

Summer Skies Marshmallow Constellations

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Supplies

Marshmallows
Food coloring (optional)
Toothpicks
Constellation guide (we used this one)
Black paper
Zip lock bags

Step 1

Place some marshmallows into the zip lock bag and add a few drops of food coloring. We used yellow and green. You could also use blue (we were out), but red does not look right. We tried it, and it just ended up looking like our poor marshmallows had gotten into an unfortunate and dangerous brawl. Close the bag and shake to distribute the color.

Step 2

Print your constellation guide and choose the summer skies marshmallow constellations that you want to make. We chose aquila, cygnus, libra, and capricornus. Bo (age 3) just had fun sticking toothpicks into marshmallows and didn’t follow a real constellation. Break your toothpicks to the necessary size and use a marshmallow for each star in the constellation.

Step 3

Photograph your efforts on black paper just for fun. We saved ours to show to dad later, but we did end up eating a few of our constellations. Memorize the name and shape of each constellation so that next time you are star-gazing in the summer, you can impress your friends with your star knowledge. Just tell them you learned it by making summer skies marshmallow constellations!