• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
The Artisan Life
  • Dot Marker Pages
  • Mother’s Day Printables
  • Journals & Planners
  • Preschool + K Printables
    • Alphabet Tracing Worksheets
    • Fine Motor Practice Pages
    • Spanish Preschool Pages
    • CVC & Sight Words
    • Dot Marker Pages
    • Preschool Math
    • Kindergarten Math Worksheets
    • Cut & Paste Puzzles
  • Coloring
  • Gardening + DIY
    • Gardening
    • DIY Cleaning Products
    • DIY Skincare Products
    • Craft Tutorials
  • Shop

Free Printable Space Matching Game & Solar System Matching Cards

4618 shares
  • Share

These free printable space and solar system matching cards are fun for toddlers and big kids, too!

Younger children enjoy playing with the outer space and planet cards face up as a matching game. Older children love the challenge of playing outer space memory with the cards face down.

I hope you enjoy this space matching game as much as we do!

Two free printable outer space matching games. Each game features 10 pairs of cards. One has 9 planets and the Sun. The other set of cards features rockets, satellites, telescopes, and an astronaut.

This post includes affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission on purchases made through links at no additional cost to you.

Making this outer space & solar system matching activity is easy!

Materials needed:

  • Printable space matching cards and/or solar system matching game (Download links are lower in the post. No email address is required – just keep scrolling until you get to the links!)
  • Printer & paper or cardstock
    • I always use presentation paper, a type of heavyweight paper with a special coating for crisp, vibrant images. If I’m going to use my colored ink, I want the printables to look their best!
  • Scissors or paper cutter
  • Laminator & laminating pouches. Optional but highly recommended.

I’m always talking about presentation paper in my printables posts. I really do love and use it every time I print a matching game or bingo board. If you don’t have presentation paper, use white cardstock or your brightest white paper.

Sale
Epson S041062 Matte Presentation Paper, 27 lbs., Matte, 8-1/2 x 11 (Pack of...
Epson S041062 Matte Presentation Paper, 27 lbs., Matte, 8-1/2 x 11 (Pack of...
  • Matte coated, single-sided ink jet paper with a smooth finish
  • Perfect for newsletters, proposals and flyers with photos
  • For colorful graphic images and razor sharp black text
Amazon Prime
Check current price

You can’t see the difference as well in the photo as you can in real life, but the mermaid bingo board on the left was printed on presentation paper and the one on the right was printed on cardstock:

difference between print on presentation paper and cardstock

If you have a laminator, I recommend laminating these matching cards before cutting them out. I am so thankful I bought a cheap at-home laminator so I can make printables more durable for my toddler!

How to print and use your matching or memory game:

First, download your desired printables below. There’s a version featuring outer space images like rockets, telescopes, and astronauts. There’s also as second planet matching game with nine planets at the sun. (Yes, Pluto is there, too.) Please note that the planets are cartoon-y, not hyper realistic. I will probably make a more realistic solar system matching game in the future so be sure to Pin this page and check back again soon!

Print out your printables. As stated above I recommend using presentation paper or cardstock. Plain paper does not hold up well for repeated use.

Laminate the printables, then cut them out. If you don’t have a laminator, you can “laminate” them with clear packing tape. It isn’t the same, but it’s better than nothing.

Two free printable outer space matching games. Each page has 10 pairs of images. One has cartoon planets and the other page has space images like telescopes and astronauts. Both previews are on a  wood background.

You can play with the cards face up as a matching game for toddlers or preschoolers.

Older children can play memory with the cards by placing them face down. Have your child flip over two cards. If they match, the cards are paired up and removed from the board. If they don’t match, the cards are flipped face down again. Play continues until all pairs have been matched. 

Memory can be played as a solitary game or with multiple players taking turns. For a multi-player game (or a more difficult solitaire game), combine the outer space and solar system cards.

You can also remove pairs from the set to make the memory game easier for younger children. My two year old can play memory with three or four sets of cards if she has adult help.

Related: Free printable space bingo

Free printable outer space matching game

Please note that, like all Artisan Life printables, these are available for personal (non-commercial) and classroom use. Please do not redistribute the files or printouts to others for their use. Instead, please refer your friends and coworkers to this post so they can download their own copies.

The preview images are low resolution and will look horrible if printed. Use the download links below the images to get your high resolution PDF files. The links are highlighted in grey to make them easier to find.

Space matching cards

This outer space game is fairly easy on your ink. If you’re running low on ink, print this one instead of the planet matching game!

Free printable space themed matching game for toddlers and preschoolers. The page has 10 pairs of space-themed images including rocket ships, telescopes, and a rover.

Download the outer space matching game here

Solar system matching game

The solar system matching game is so colorful and cheerful! It features all nine planets and the Sun. Yes, I included Pluto (which is currently classified as a “dwarf planet”).

Free printable matching game featuring 9 planets of the solar system and the sun. Each image is repeated twice for a total of 20 matching game cards

Download the solar system matching game here

Looking for more low-prep activities for kids? Join The Artisan Life and receive a free printable woodland animal activity pack!

Printables & Activities for Children

I believe you shouldn't have to pick between fun and education. These free printables keep your kids busy and learning without resorting to screen time.

Make sure to join The Artisan Life family newsletter so you can get the latest freebies and low-prep activities for your littles.

Free Printable Dinosaur Matching Game (for your dino-loving child)

These printable dinosaur matching cards will thrill your little dino-lover! Older children can use them to play a game of memory.

Free Printable Woodland Animal Activity Pack

Dinosaur Bingo

Get ready for a roaring good time with this free printable dinosaur bingo!

Nature Scavenger Hunt for Toddlers and Preschoolers

The Best Board Games for Two Year Olds

Printable Rainbow Templates

Free Printable Mermaid Bingo

Free Printable Cute Unicorn Coloring Pages

text "free printable space matching cards - low-prep fun for kids at home!" on a blue blue background with a preview of two printable space themed matching card games. Both games feature 10 pairs of cartoon space images to match.
4618 shares
  • Share

Buy me a coffee

Filed Under: Printable, Printable matching cards, Toddler Printables

Previous Post: « Free Printable Space Bingo (for out of this world fun)
Next Post: Free Printable Dog Bingo (for your dog-loving child) »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

natashalh - the artisan life

Hi, I’m Natasha! I’m so glad you’re here.

I’m a former classroom teacher with a Masters of the Arts in Teaching turned homeschooler & gardener. I share educational & planner printables and tips for making gardening with kids successful and affordable.

I also publish printed coloring & activity books. You can also find me on YouTube.

Let's be friends!

Search The Artisan Life

The Artisan Life is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

The Artisan Life also uses affiliate links for other sites. For a full look at my policy, please visit its page here.

Buy me a coffee

Footer

Privacy Policy | Disclosure & Disclaimer | Terms and Conditions | Contact
COPYRIGHT © 2012 – 2023 The Artisan Life · ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
If you have any questions feel free to contact me directly here: natashalh(at)stalkingthewildsnark(dot)com. I do not accept guest posts and will not respond to unsolicited requests for guest posts or links. Stock images by Depositphotos

Copyright © 2023 The Artisan Life on the Foodie Pro Theme