Today I have found some "space crafting" : ) projects for you. Make Your Own Space Station is a series of cards that show you how to built some cute little space toys. It seems to have been part of of series of crafting cards of projects you could make from household objects. Probably a little strange but also a lot of fun to try. Make Your Own Space Station. (Spears Games Project Cards.) New York: Ace Publishing. (10 cards.) 1970.

The second promotional comic I wanted to share is Journey to the Sun. It is also from Boys’ and Girls’ March of Comics and the only other one I've found that is about space flight.  It was handed to customers of stores that sold Little Yankee Shoes.   Journey to the Sun is a story about a mission to get close enough to the sun with some instruments to make some important measurements. They use ion propulsion to get there and actually use a solar sail for braking as they approach the sun. Of course things go wrong and the astronauts are subjected to high heat (and drama.) In the end they use the known melting points of several metals to measure their distance from the sun so they can complete their mission. A much more scientific story than I expected. Journey to The Sun. (Promotional comic.)  Boys’ and Girls’ March of Comics, #219. Poughkeepsie, NY: Western Printing and Lithographing Co. (18 p.) 1961.

A promotional comic from 1960 called Space Explorer. It was part of the comic series Boys’ and Girls’ March of Comics, #202. These promotional comics were distributer to retailers who would brand them with their name and give them away to customers to attract them to shop at that store (like stores that sell Jumping-Jacks shoes.) Space Explorer is the story of a brave astronaut who survives trials and tribulations to make it to Phobos (of Mars) to discover via telescope new information about Martian canals. Spoiler alert: Mars has primitive plants but no intelligent life made the canals. Space Explorer. (Promotional comic.)  Boys’ and Girls’ March of Comics, #202. Poughkeepsie, NY: Western Printing and Lithographing Co. (18 p.) 1960.

The Spaceman at Home and at School was a pamphlet for elementary school teacher. It gave them ideas about how to teach about space flight in the classroom with vivid examples. It was not about the history of spaceflight but rather how to build on the "Space Race" excitement already in the classrooms of the time. Probably not too many copies of this one still around.  It is a charming spaceflight craft and costume handbook. I found a copy that come from a retired teacher's classroom. Along with it she had reproduced drawings from the book and a play about spaceflight. She also had mimeographs to hand out of the play and to send home with parents who might have to create a costume.  Miller, Ray. The Spaceman at Home and at School. Riverside, CA: Bruce Miller Publication. (24 p.) 1958.  My 2016 blog post about this book and record https://dreamsofspace.blogspot.com/2016/09/space-horizons-unlimited-1957.html One of the copied plans for parents.