Astronaut Doll Pretend Play

Space…  It’s a place of wonder for so many of us, especially our kiddos. And my girl wants to go there someday. So we whipped up a way to make her favorite Barbie into an astronaut doll. I really hope you love these fun, foil-wrapped spacesuit dolls and spaceship because this is one of our favorite projects ever. It was easy for my preschooler to make, it led to all sorts of imaginative play and lots of educational discussions about the amazingness of space. Oh and it’s kind of silly, so there was lots of laughing too!

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Kids can make their favorite toy an astronaut doll with aluminum foil and their imagination. It's great pretend play for our next generation of explorers.

Astronaut Doll Pretend Play Supplies Needed

For the Astronaut:

Barbie Astronaut Supplies

For the Spaceship:

  • Shoe box
  • Toilet paper roll
  • Funnel or other cone shaped item
  • Red crepe paper
  • Aluminum Foil
  • Tape
  • Laminating plastic (optional)

Make Your Astronaut Doll

  1. Grab one half of your ornament, place over the doll’s face and start wrapping with foil. My almost five year old girl LOVED!! this step. And if you buy the cheap, really thin aluminum foil, it makes it even easier for them to wrap up small spots like hands.
  2. We found it easiest to cover the whole doll with foil and then tear out an opening for the face instead of trying to leave the face open while wrapping.

Barbie Astronaut Doll Pretend Play FB

We covered Barbie’s dog sidekick because everyone needs a friend up in space. Little stuffed animals would work with these too.

Space Dog Closeup LBCB

Make Your Spaceship

My daughter said we had to make a spaceship for Barbie, so we whipped one up with some recyclables. This was totally kiddo-led and all of her creative ideas made me one proud mama.

  1. First cut out a window in the shoe box top. (Yes, I wore Star Jones shoes many years ago. Don’t judge :) ) Next we taped in a piece of laminating pouch that I had ran through the machine empty. It made a great window, but is totally optional.

Shoe Box and Foil LBCB

  1. Cover the top and bottom of the shoe box with foil.
  2. Tape a funnel or other cone shaped item on top of the box to make the point of the rocker. Cover it with foil.
  3. Then tape a toilet paper roll to the bottom of the box for the rocket. Cover with foil and add red crepe paper for the flames.

Astronaut Space Dog and Spac Ship

Space Pretend Play Add-Ons

There are so many ways to build on this project for some real space learning.  NASA has great resources for kids & educators including pics, games & activities. We extended the pretend play by building a space station fort behind the couch and hung out there playing and reading for a loooong time. We talked about what it would be like to live in space and I showed her this cool video about living on the space station.

I was thrilled about how engaged my normally activity-hopping daughter was in the space stuff! I might pick up a few books, some dress-up items and maybe even some freeze-dried food like these for our next epic play session.

Science, Tech, Engineering, Art, and Math Fun for Kids

Looking for some more STEAM inspiration that use can use right now? Instant gratification style? Check out STEAM Kids: 50+ Hands-on Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, & Math Hands-On Projects for Kids ebook! It’s packed full of a year’s worth fun learning activities that will wow the boredom right out of your kids.

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