This Friday, July 29th, marks the creation of NASA. Celebrate this historic day with a bunch of outer-space-related kid-friendly activities!

First, a little background info on this momentous occasion, and a short video:

New Jersey's got plenty of stargazing opportunities at nearby planetariums and observatories. The Raritan Valley Community College planetarium is showing two action-packed shows: Attack of the Space Pirates (for ages 8–12) and The Little Star that Could (for ages 6–12). "Little Star" is showing at 2 pm and "Pirates" at 3 pm (shows are also on August 2, 9, 16, and 23).

On July 28th, head to the Community Children's Museum in Dover for some space exploration activity.

New Jersey Museums

Kids can explore more at these museums, which offer space exploration:

Aviation Hall of Fame & Museum of New Jersey
400 Fred Wehran Drive, Teterboro, NJ
201-288-6344

Imagine That!!! Discovery Museum for Children
4 Vreeland Road, Florham Park, NJ
973-966-8000

Liberty Science Center
222 Jersey City Boulevard, Jersey City, NJ
201-200-1000

Space-Themed Movies

Rent a DVD and watch one of these older space-themed flicks:

  • Space Chimps
  • The Ultimate Fly Me to the Moon
  • Star Trek (rated PG-13)
  • Monsters vs. Aliens

And, if you're looking for a toy or game that will take your kids' imaginations to outer space, check out The Space Shop at Kennedy Space Center.

Here's hoping your fun will be out of this world! What other space-related events and activities do you know about? Tell us below or on Facebook!