To keep everyone entertained at your Star Party, have a variety of games that people of all ages can enjoy.

Dock the International Space Station
Did you know the International Space Station is located more than 240 miles above the Earth? The Space Station orbits the Earth at 17,500 miles per hour!

The International Space Station has people living on it at all times. The average Expedition stays in space five to six months.

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To make your own "Dock the Shuttle to the Space Station" game, print out a picture of the International Space Station or paint your own on a large sheet of paper or poster board.

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Print or draw a picture of a Space Shuttle and cut it out. Make several copies of the image so there are enough Space Shuttles for everyone playing the game. Have the players write their names on their shuttles. Use thumbtacks or tape to "dock" the Space Shuttle.

Place the Space Station picture on a sturdy wall and make sure it is low enough for all the players to reach. Blindfold the player, turn the player around two or three times and point him or her toward the Space Station poster. The player should then attempt to "dock" the Space Shuttle with the International Space Station.

The player's Space Shuttle closest to the correct configuration wins.  

Planet Twist
Purchase a large, heavy plastic tablecloth and use the outline of a paper plate to draw circle patterns in rows on the tablecloth with a permanent marker. For each row of circles, draw a planet in the center. Pick a different planet for each row. Create a spinner and place pictures of each of the planets on the spinner. Select one person to operate the spinner for the game and have the other players take turns putting their right foot on Jupiter, etc. until there is only one player left who hasn't fallen down. That person is the winner, the rest fell into the "black hole."

Use this image as a pattern to go by if you wish.

Land the Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle launches and lands at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Alternative landing sites are located at Edwards Air Force Base in California and White Sands, N.M. It takes only 8 ½ minutes for the Space Shuttle to reach orbital altitude after launch.

NASA's Space Shuttles are Atlantis, Discovery and Endeavour.

To make your own "Land the Shuttle" game, first make a paper airplane that is able to "fly." To assemble your own Space Shuttle cutout, either go by this pattern or create your own picture.

Attach the picture to a sturdy backing, such as cardboard or poster board. Cut a hole large enough for your paper airplane to fly through. To "land," the Shuttle must fly through the hole.

Ring Saturn
Did you know that the rings around Saturn are rocks, dust and ice spinning very fast around the planet? Other planets have rings too, but they are not visible from Earth.

Saturn is the second-largest planet in the Solar System. Nine Earths could line up across Saturn! It is sometimes called the Jewel of the Solar System.

Saturn is a very windy planet. Winds around its equator can reach up to 1,118 miles per hour! Saturn is the only planet in our solar system less dense than water -- it is made up of mostly gases.

To play "Ring Saturn," put a large beach ball on a pedestal or box, paint it to resemble Saturn if you want, and use Hula Hoops tossed from a distance to "ring" Saturn.

International Space Station Dinner
Players sit in a circle. The first player starts by saying, "On the Space Station, I like to eat hamburgers." The next player must repeat, "On the Space Station, I like to eat hamburgers ..." and add another dish. This continues all the way around the circle with each player reciting the dishes in the exact order they have been given and then adding a new one. If a player makes a mistake, he or she drops out of the circle and the game continues with the remaining players. The last person left who can perfectly recite the Space Station dinner menu wins.

Discoverer
Players are asked to "discover" a new planet. To discover a planet, first they must blow up a balloon as large as possible. Then, "to inhabit" this planet with humans, they use a permanent marker to draw on the balloon as many little men and women as possible. The player who has the greatest number of people on the balloon is the winner.

More Games
Click here for more Star Party games.