by 
There is something magical about meteor showers.
I saw my first in college, and I have been blessed to see many others, but the magic never goes away.
I couldn't wait to share them with my kids. Of course, I had to wait. Meteor showers only happen at night, and very small kids don't do so well at 3 in the morning!
Finally, I decided at 6 and 7, maybe the girls were old enough to watch a meteor shower. Plus they were talking about astronomy in science, perfect!
No such luck. Clouds thwarted multiple meteor shower viewing attempts.
So we came up with a way to draw our own!
Supplies to Create Your Meteor Shower Art
- Chalk Pastels
- Black Poster Board (Black Construction paper would work ok as well, but it has a size limitation)
What is a Meteor Shower
A lot of people, especially kids, know meteors as "shooting stars" because of the way they appear to shoot across the sky.
Meteors are actually pieces broken off an asteroid or comet that enter the earth's atmosphere and burn up. As they burn they give off the light we see as the "shooting star."
Meteor showers occur on a fairly regular basis when the earth enters part of its orbit that has more of this debris.
So if you haven't seen a meteor shower, imagine many of these "shooting stars" sailing across the sky.
As you can imagine, they are beautiful!
How to Make Meteor Shower Art
Chalk pastels were perfect for this art subject because we could really capture the streaks of light you see in the sky during a meteor shower.
I showed the kids how they could use the pastels to make a dot and then use their finger to smear it into a streak to resemble a meteor.
After making several meteors, they drew houses in the for ground.
Now the girls had their own meteor showers they could see anytime they wanted.
Of course, as fun as this art project is, it cannot compare to the real thing!
Luckily, my girls have had a chance to see some meteors, but that doesn't stop us from viewing meteor showers when we get the chance.
The American Meteor Society has a good guide to when you can spot meteor showers if you haven't had the pleasure of seeing one.
One may not be enough though. If you are like me, it is really hard to ever see enough "shooting stars."
.jpg)
.jpg)
