Weekend Fun: Well Met by Moonlight
Did you see the super pink moon earlier this week? It was a full moon that was a little bigger and a little brighter than usual, and if you saw it, you will know that it wasn’t pink.
Why is it called a pink moon when it isn’t pink? Every month has a name from folklore for the full moon. Many of the moon names in the United States come from Native American cultures, and in April it’s called a pink moon because it appears around the same time as a spring wildflower called phlox. If you want to learn more about the names for the full moon each month, visit National Geographic’s website:
https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/2019/02/full-moon-names-explained
Next month you can view the Super Flower Moon on May 26, but that will be the last super moon for 2021. Celebrate the super moon with a moon painting craft!
Moon Painting Craft
What you need:
- large paper circle or paper plate
- paint in a variety of colors, including white and black
- 1 or 2 applicators for paint: baby wipes, plastic wrap, foil, bubble wrap, cut up sponges, or anything else you find around the house.
- something to stir and mix the paint, and a take-out container to use as a paint palette
What you do:
- To make a large paper circle: trace anything round, like a dinner plate, on any light-colored paper or cardboard and cut it out. Optional: Use a lightweight white paper plate instead.
- Mix white paint with just a little of any color you choose: with black, it will make gray; with blue, it will become a pale blue; with yellow it will be a very pale yellow; and with red, it will be pale pink. Just a tiny dab of color is all that is needed. You can always add more if you wish, but the more white you have the brighter your moon will be.
- Cover the circle with the paint you just mixed to make the moon’s surface.
- On another part of the paint palette, mix some white paint with a little more black or yellow or blue or red so that you have a darker color.
- Use one of the paint applicators mentioned above to dab into the paint and then randomly across the surface of your moon to make craters.
- When the paint is dry, punch a hole and put a piece of string through it so you can hang the moon in your window.
