# Bag of Wonder: The Moon > Phases, craters and the far side, then land with Eagle and leave footprints that last for ages. A free interactive 3D exhibit for children aged 2 to 6, from Curiosity's Child in Troy, Michigan. - Interactive exhibit: https://bagofwonder.com/look-inside/moon/ - Ages: 2 to 6. The story is pitched at the youngest; the tap cards give older children more to chew on. - Cost: free, with no sign-in, no ads and no tracking. - Works on: phones, tablets and computers, in a web browser. Sound on for the narration. ## What it is Interactive 3D model of the Moon from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter maps. A time slider follows the phases, the craters and the far side, then the Apollo 11 landing: Eagle lands, the first step down the ladder, hopping in low gravity, footprints that stay, Earth in the black sky and the ascent stage lifting off. A second slider opens the Moon to show its crust, mantle and core, and pulls the lander's real parts apart with labels; tapping a part shows a child-friendly fact. How to play: press play to hear the story (read aloud in Kelly's voice, with the words on screen). Slide the time slider back and forth to see any part again. Slide "Pull apart" to see what is hidden inside. Tap any glowing button for a fact. ## The story 1. Every night the Moon seems to change shape. But it is really a big round ball the whole time. 2. The Sun lights up one half of the Moon. As the Moon travels around the Earth, we see more or less of the lit-up half. 3. Thin crescent, half Moon, big round full Moon, and back again, about once a month. 4. Those round dents are craters. Space rocks hit the Moon long, long ago and left them behind. 5. The Moon always keeps the same face towards us. This is its far side, which nobody on Earth can ever see. 6. Long ago, astronauts flew all the way to the Moon. Their lander, Eagle, came gently down on four legs. 7. Neil Armstrong climbed down the ladder and took the very first step on the Moon. 8. Buzz Aldrin came down too. They hopped and bounced, because everything weighs much less on the Moon. 9. Their footprints are still there today. There is no wind or rain on the Moon to wipe them away. 10. High in the black sky floats the Earth, our home: blue, white and very far away. 11. Then the top of Eagle flew back up, and the astronauts went home to Earth. ## The parts, and what we tell children These are the tap cards, word for word. - **The Moon**: The Moon is our nearest neighbour in space: a big ball of rock, about a quarter as wide as the Earth. It makes no light of its own. It shines because sunlight bounces off it. - **The dark patches**: The dark patches are called seas, but there is no water in them. They are flat plains of old, dark rock that was once hot and runny. Eagle landed on one, called the Sea of Tranquility. - **Craters**: The round dents are craters. Space rocks hit the Moon long, long ago and left them behind. The biggest craters are wider than a whole country! - **Crust**: The outside of the Moon is a crust of rock, covered in soft grey dust. It is thicker than the Earth's crust. - **Mantle**: Under the crust is a thick layer of rock called the mantle. Long ago, some of it was hot and runny, and it leaked out to make the dark seas. - **Core**: In the very middle is a small ball of iron: the core. Scientists found it by listening to moonquakes with instruments the astronauts left behind. - **Descent stage**: The gold blanket kept the bottom half of Eagle from getting too hot or too cold. It stayed behind on the Moon, and it is still there today. - **Ascent stage**: The astronauts rode in here. It used the bottom half as a launch pad to fly back up to their friend Michael, waiting in orbit. - **Legs and footpads**: Eagle has four legs with round feet, like big snowshoes, so it would not sink into the dust. - **Ladder**: Neil Armstrong climbed down this ladder to take the very first step on the Moon. - **Engine**: This big engine pushed downwards to slow Eagle, so it could land as softly as a feather. - **Antennas**: The round dish sent the astronauts' voices and television pictures all the way home, so people everywhere could watch. - **Little thrusters**: These little rockets puffed in different directions to turn Eagle and keep it steady. - **Footprint**: With no wind or rain, these footprints could last for millions of years. This one is a real photograph of an Apollo 11 bootprint. - **Moon dust**: It is powdery and grey, and it stuck to everything! Under it the ground is hard rock. - **The flag**: The astronauts set up a flag. There is no wind on the Moon, so a rod along the top holds it out straight. - **Earth in the sky**: From the Moon, the astronauts could see the whole Earth floating in space: blue water, brown land and white clouds. - **Columbia**: Columbia was the little round ship that waited in orbit, with Michael Collins inside. Eagle's top flew up to meet it, and then Columbia carried all three astronauts home to Earth. - **Astronaut**: A spacesuit is like a tiny spaceship. It holds air to breathe and water to keep cool, and the gold visor shades the eyes from the bright Sun. ## Getting the science right What we checked, and the myths we steer around: - The Moon's colours and hills come from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter maps. The hills are raised a little more than real life so that crater rims catch the light. - Phases: the Sun always lights half of the Moon; we see more or less of that half as it goes around the Earth, about once every 29.5 days. - The far side is not dark; it gets sunlight too. We just never see it from Earth. - Eagle landed on 20 July 1969 in the Sea of Tranquility. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the Moon while Michael Collins stayed in orbit in Columbia. Twelve people have walked on the Moon. - The gold on the lander is insulating blanket material ("gold blanket" is fair for children). - The Earth is drawn about twice as big in the Moon's sky as it really looks, so a child can find it. ## How to use it with children Watch the phases at the start slowly, with the sound on, then jump to the landing. Ask, "Why do the footprints stay?" before you tap the footprint card. Ask more than you tell, and let the child drive. Then step away from the screen: look at the real Moon each clear evening for a month and draw its shape on a calendar. Make craters by dropping pebbles into a tray of flour dusted with cocoa. A few minutes together is plenty. The exhibit is a doorway to the real thing, not a replacement for it. ## Credits and licenses The real scans, maps and photographs belong to their makers, under the licenses below. The words, story and code are Curiosity's Child's. - The Moon's colour and height maps are real, from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter ([NASA CGI Moon Kit](https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4720), public domain, with thanks) - Lunar module and spacesuit models: NASA ([NASA 3D Resources](https://science.nasa.gov/3d-resources/)), shown here for learning; not made or endorsed by NASA - Footprint: NASA photo AS11-40-5878 - Earth and star maps: [Solar System Scope](https://www.solarsystemscope.com/textures/) ([CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)) - Ground, flag, dust and the inside of the Moon built in code - Narrated by Kelly, in her own voice - The Moon is silent, so its gentle hum and the music-box lullaby were made for this page ## More on the Space shelf - [The Planets](https://bagofwonder.com/look-inside/planets/index.md): Fly past the Sun and all eight planets, and peek inside them. - [The Rocket](https://bagofwonder.com/look-inside/rocket/index.md): Count down, lift off and ride the giant Saturn V all the way to the Moon. - [The Mars Rover](undefined): Land on Mars with a real robot explorer and its little helicopter. ## About Bag of Wonder A free library of interactive 3D "look inside" science exhibits, made at Curiosity's Child, a licensed home daycare in Troy, Michigan. Secular and science-based; welcoming to all. - All exhibits and how we make them: https://bagofwonder.com/llms.txt - For grown-ups and AI assistants: https://bagofwonder.com/look-inside/about/ - To cite: "The Moon", Bag of Wonder, Curiosity's Child (Troy, Michigan). https://bagofwonder.com/look-inside/moon/