Every child loves to be read to. It’s a bedtime routine that has been encouraged by educational professionals for generations, with the benefits appearing to be endless.
Not only is it vital for developing literacy, a good vocabulary and a vivid imagination, it also allows children to dream big, be inspired and fall in love with the many characters and stories which fill the well-worn pages of their books.
Story time doesn’t need to be monotonous, Thanks to the Global Space Education Foundation Story Time From Space is now a real thing, and it is every bit inspiring and engaging as it sounds.
Story Time….FROM SPACE
Born from the desire to introduce and encourage STEM to children Story Time From Space is a brilliant initiative dreamed up by educator Patricia Tribe and astronaut Alvin Drew.
The premise is simple – real astronauts are filmed as they gently float within their space station and read a science-themed children’s book to a camera.
Astronaut Storytelling
These videos are not only intriguing but also a little mesmerising, easily succeeding in their mission to inspire and engage young minds.
In each clip, you are introduced to the astronaut who will be reading a book to the camera but as soon as the video cuts to them it is immediately apparent this is going to be different to anything your child may have seen before.
While the astronaut introduces and reads the story, it is all the incredible things going on in the background that will instantly draw the audience in (both young and old).
The videos are filmed by the astronauts and edited prior to being uploaded and include cutaway close-up shots of the book’s illustrated pages as well. Some of these include small animated sections or pans to help illustrate the tale.
On top of this, at the end of some videos, we learn a little more about the featured astronaut.
Aside from being science-themed, the chosen books have a wide range of reading levels (though all can be read in 15 minutes or less) and cover a range of STEM topics, from physics to engineering to biology.
What We Thought About Story Time from Space
There are so many obvious reasons why we love this initiative. Aside from the fact it is a super cool alternative to hearing a story, it also allows for so much more learning to occur.
So far, my children and I have watched four of these videos. Each one a couple of times (at least). With ages ranging from 3 to 8, the level of understanding as to where the astronauts are, what they are doing, why they are doing it and how it is that we are able to watch them varies greatly and I find that at numerous times throughout the video I need to pause it so that we can explore some of their questions.
How to make the most of the space read
Do a watch-through first, to hear the story uninterrupted. Then, watch again, stopping to answer questions. And believe me, there are usually lots!
Even more awesome is the fact the stories are read by astronauts of different ages, gender and nationality – which is a fantastic way to demonstrate to children that regardless of who you are or where you come from you really can achieve anything you put your mind to.
Who is going to enjoy this?
Children of all-ages (even the cool big kids who think they are too old to be read to) will love Story Time from Space. Those with a keen interest in STEM and space will particularly love these videos.
Although not intended to replace the one-on-one adult-child reading time, these videos are a great option for mixing things up and adding a little excitement to the usual routine every now and then.
Science Time From Space
With all the popularity of Story Time From Space, the team have now begun creating science experiments in space.
Science Time From Space has been designed to complement the concepts found within the selected children’s books and cover key concepts from the science curriculum including heat transfer, light, buoyancy, the effect of gravity on humans and more.
What better way to introduce STEM to our children too, than via the wonderful real world of storytelling from space?
