Make Your Own Rocket Control Panel

Make your own rocket control panel, entirely from loose parts!

Leo is really into space, so it was a no-brainer for us to build a rocket control panel that could nurture his imagination. This was made entirely from either loose parts that we had in the house, or items we bought cheaply from charity shops.

Charity shops provide a rich source of loose parts for any creative project you have in mind.

We also went to Timpsons locksmiths and asked them for old keys. To my surprise, they obliged and these were used as the rocket ignition!

Here's your step-by-step guide.

Step 1

We gathered all our materials:

• Cardboard from recent deliveries

• Old light switches

• Ribbon

• Old necklace (from chairty shop)

• Sequins from a bowtie (from charity shop)

• Light up tea lights

• Old keys (from chairty shop)

• Black and red paint

• Christmas tree lights

• Magnetic tape

• Magnetic letters

• Egg boxes

• Bar of soap (Leo's contribution - for washing the astronauts' hands!)

And our tools:

• Stanley knife

• Hot glue gun

• Masking tape

Step 2

Mark out the windows for your cockpit using a ruler and pencil.

Cut these out with a stanley knife.

Step 3

Paint the cardboard. We chose black for the inside to give the lights maximum impact. We chose red and silver for the outside.

We started by painting the whole outside red. We then used masking tape and placed it in rough lines across the paint when it had dried. We then gave a second coat of silver to give a fun criss-cross pattern.

Step 4

We painted the control panel based in black. We then painted our egg boxes and control panel.

We also had another small box, so we painted this red. Initially I suggested it should be a fire extinguisher holder, but it later became a sample analyser!

Naturally we paused and had a great time mixing paints and painting other bits and pieces we had lying around!

Step 5

We used a hot glue gun to stick down the sequins (that we sourced from an old charity shop necklace) on to the control panels. The smaller one was entirely Leo's idea, using a folded up piece of cardboard.

With the stanley knife, I cut out small holes for the light switches.

I jammed the three keys we obtained from Timpsons into a block of cardboard to make the ignition switch!

We used the glue gun to stick eveything together including the tea lights.

Step 6

Rig up your Chistmas lights. I connected them to one of the light switches. To do this I severed the wire with my stanley knife. I connected one of the wires to the 'in' section of the light switch and the other to the 'out'. When the switch is flipped, the circuit is joined and the lights will turn on.

Step 7

We used magnetic strips and stuck them to the sides. We have some magnetic letters, so Leo is now able to play with letters. He decided to name his rocket Tallest Rocket Nasher (we don't know why!)

Step 8

Let the play commence!